The Reason for the Season

I was blessed recently to receive a WHOLE bunch of WONDERFUL products from my friends at JustRite. Blessed with a capital B-L-E-S-S-E-D. Someone pinch me please, lol!

The first JR package I dug into to get inky was the Christmas Stamp Ensemble, which utilizes the 3 1/4 inch Harmony Classic Circle wooden stamper. This baby is BIG! There are so many interchangable holiday borders and design centers in this set it's unbelievable. When I saw the border that said "Celebrate the Season", I instantly thought of the birth of Jesus Christ, the main reason behind this blessed season we celebrate. I wanted to tie the border into a image with Baby Jesus in the manger. I've had the image for a few seasons now, but haven't used it alot. My JustRite Christmas Stamp Ensemble gave me the perfect reason to use it again!



First I stamped the border on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with brown ink. Then I stamped and colored the main image on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock as well. I cut out the main image with a circle Nestie and then mounted it inside the circle border. It's popped up with some dimensionals. Of course the card needed some bling, so I managed that by putting a sparkly snowflake on my sentiment flag.

I placed the main image and sentiment on top of a piece of brown metallic cardstock that I first ran through my Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder.

I adore JR products, and that's the honest to goodness truth! Their products are amazingly versatile and soooooo useful. Remember, the place to buy all your JustRite products is over at Stamper's Dream. Michelle just got a whole boatload of new products in, so now's the time to head on over to check them out for yourselves. I'm not kiddin'....you'll love them.

Holiday Hugs,
Amy

JustRite Rocks!

It's JustRite Week at over at Stamper's Dream! Every day this week the amazing Stamper's Dream Dream Team is dazzling you with amazing projects made with a multitude of JustRite products.

I gotta tell you again, as I have before, that I looooove my JustRite monogram stamper. Recently though, I purchased the 1 5/8" Harmony Classic Circle Stamper so I decided to use it for today's project. It's got the same sized face as the Monogram Stamper (where you put your font letters in to build your personalized monogram), but it has a wooden handle and does not come in a fancy schmancy self storage case.

I've been seeing so many cute Christmas gift projects out there lately that I wanted to try my hand at one for my girlfriend who lives out of town for Christmas. I remember that she really used to like hot chocolate in college, so I'm assuming that she still likes it as a grown woman, lol. I found this amazing ceramic mug at Homegoods last week and thought it would be perfect wrapped up with some marshmallows and cocoa for my friend.

I played off the black and white mug by using Real Red cardstock to really make the whole thing pop! I first had to brainstorm a great cocoa saying for my JustRite stamper. I couldn't think of anything really witty, so I ended up going with "A Cup Of Cocoa to Warm Your Heart". I added a black circle and a red heart in the middle of my monogram to tie in with the sentiment that I created with my JustRite Stamper. On a piece of Real Red cardstock, I stamped a bunch of snowflakes from my Hero Arts clear stamp set called Winter's Butterfly in Whisper White craft ink. For my cocoa wrap, I used my Scor-Pal to score lines to make wrapping it around the cocoa easier. I am not a tutorial kinda gal, so you aren't going to find any detailed instructions on how to make the wrap. I'll leave that to the pros! I added a scalloped border of white at the top and bottom of the wrap for a little decorative pizzaz.

For the inside of the mug, I packaged up some miniature marshmallows and tied them up with a bow. I made a really cute bow to hang of the marshmallows too. It is a cup of hot cocoa, can't you tell? The cocoa cup stamp actually has circles all over it, but I didn't want circles on my cup. So I stamped it on a piece of Real Red cardstock, cut it out and then turned it over to the non stamped side. Then I stamped more snowflakes on the cup! Even more snowflakes were stamped on the black background.


The whipped cream was created with Liquid Applique. I wanted to put some chocolate sprinkles on my whipped cream, so I sprinkled a tiny bit of brown embossing powder over the applique, but it didn't quite work. The crystals just sort of sank a bit into the whipped cream, so they aren't that noticable. It was the thought that counts, right? Right!

I had so much fun creating this special little gift for my girlfriend. I hope she likes it. I didn't make one for her hubby, do you think he'll feel bad? I don't think so because the cute little mug might be bit feminine for his liking, lol.

Well, I hope you liked the little gift idea today. Be sure and visit Tosh today too to see what amazing little thing she's created using JustRite products. Tomorrow was Laurie's Schmidlin's day to post her JustRite project, but since she's been away taking care of her daughter Ali, the entire Dream Team decided to pitch in and post for her! Friday it's going to be Carolyn and Cindy wowing us.

Be sure to visit Michelle's blog to try and win yourself some sweet little JustRite blog candy, ok? Leave a comment on this post to comment. Michelle will have more details for you there.

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Amy

The Artful Stamper

I just love this tree ball stamp from Artful Stamper, which I got from Stampers Dream. All of the stamps made by Artful Stamper have amazing detail and are perfect for coloring and paper piecing.


I decided to make the stamp into an actual little ornament for a tree. All the recipient needs to do is take it off the front of the card and hang it on their tree this season. I even added a little wire hook to the ornament, even though it's hard to see in this photo.


The first thing I did is stamp the image on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. Then I colored it a bit with a light blue and light grey Copic marker, so the snow is somewhat highlighted. Not very noticible in this photo, unfortunately. Then I stamped the image again on a piece of red designer paper and green designer paper, and then cut out the holly leaves and Christmas trees. Everything was outlined with my Stardust Gel pen for a little bit of sparkle. Finally, I covered the whole thing with Diamond Glaze and then cracked it for a special look. I cut the image out after it had dried and then mounted it on the front of my card. It really is sturdy enough to be able to hang it on the tree branch! The layout that I used on the card is actually one of Jen's Saturday sketches from a few weeks ago. I am really trying to participate more in challenges from other blogs because I have such mojo problems these days. It really does help.


There are oodles of these Artful Stamper stamps at Stampers Dream this season, so if you like this one, there are a million more like it at the Stampers Dream online store (well, ok, not a million more, but definitely a dozen more designs just like it). Stop by today to check them out. Also, all of the Halloween stamps are on sale this week too! Stock up for next season!


For those of you interested, my interview went well Monday afternoon. For the most part, I sounded intelligent, LOL, but I had a few moments where I'm not sure I answered the questions "correctly", although they were more personality based questions as opposed to right and wrong answer type questions. You know, "how would your best friend describe you", "how would you handle this type of situation"....Everyone that works in the office is soooo nice. I think I would really fit in well. I think they are going to make a decision this week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and saying a prayer. I suppose I don't have to cross my fingers, do I, if I'm saying prayers? God handles everything, so I don't need "luck". I'll either get this or won't, depending on God's plans for me.


Well, I've GOT to get rolling.....I need to jump in the shower to get ready for BSF. Have a great day.


Hugs,
Amy

Last Thursday the Stamper's Dream Dream Team (that's a mouthful, isn't it?) held a Dreamy Challenge. For our first challenge, we worked with the new Doodlebug product called Stick With It (this product is currently out of stock at Stamper's Dream, but will be re-stocked in a few days....it flew off the shelves!!). This new DB product comes with two sheets of double-sided adhesive shapes in it that you cover with Doodlebug's fabulous line of Sugar Coating Glitter (can I just say the colors Michelle sells are super scrumptious!!!). Here is the card I made for the challenge.

Since I was having so much fun last week with the new Doodlebug adhesive shapes, I made a second card. The product is SUPER easy to work with...the shapes come off the sheet so easily, and the protective paper peels off super easy too. All I did was use a bunch of different swirl shapes for my background, laying them out on the front of my card so it covered the whole area. Then I sprinkled the Sugar Coating glitter on it (I used Tangerine), pressed down on the glitter with my finger over all the swirls, and then poured the rest of the glitter back into the bottle. I blew a few times on the swirls to remove the excess glitter, and tapped the back of the card with my finger to remove any stubborn specks of glitter that were hangin' on.

The fall tree image comes from the Memory Box clear stamp set called Of A Feather. All the images in the outdoor scene I stamped came from the set...the tiny birds on the ground, the bird flying through the air, the sun, the tree AND the sentiment. How's that for fully utilizing a stamp set?!!! I just love this set, and I think today I'm going to use it again. Hope you like it!

Today is a busy day. I stayed home from BSF today to rest my body and get some stuff done around the house that didn't get done while my mom was in the hospital. I am happy to say she is home now, resting comfortably. She came home late yesterday. Besides the facial paralysis, my mom also was having delusional episodes that were very scary. They've taken her off all medications in the hope that it goes away. She seemed so much more fragil after this surgery than in surgeries past. I suppose that's the case as you age. She's 74 now, and hardly has a joint that hasn't been fixed yet. Two bionic knees, two bionic hips. Yikes! Should I worry that this will be me in 30 years? Actually, the last time I had my knee cleaned out (2 or so years ago), the doctor (yes, Dr. Adorable) told me I'd be looking at a knee replacement in about 15 years. I had ACL surgery 10 years ago after rupturing the ACL ligament playing volleyball years earlier, so it's a mess inside there. But so far, it still feels good. I really do need to lose weight though, because over this past year I've gained quite a bit and that's terrible for your knees. Seeing my mom like this has reminded me that I need to get out there and exercise to take the weight off and protect my knees for as long as I can!

I hope to get some stamping done finally today. I haven't stamped since early last week. That's like forever for me. Usually I'm down here everyday stamping something. This afternoon we have Youngest Son's last football game of the season. We are hoping for a win, because they would then have an undefeated season! Tonight is the final home varsity football game as well, so we'll be going to that to watch Eldest Son march in the marching band.

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Amy

It's a Dreamy Challenge!

I've got a fun announcement!!!!

The Stamper's Dream Dream Team (now that's a mouthful!) is holding a Dreamy Challenge the second Thursday of every month. And don't think it's just for the Dream Team....we want you to participate too!

All you have to do is make a card with glitter on it, and link it to the comments section of Michelle's blog, and if you upload it to Splitcoaststampers.com (we'd love to see it there too), just use keyword SDDC1. And, since Michelle is such a sweetie, she is offering up an awesome holiday goodies prize pack which she will be giving to a winner chosen by Random.org.

This week the Dream Team worked with a new product by Doodlebug that Michelle just started carrying in her online store! I'm sure you've seen how popular glitter is these days. It really is so fun to use! So the new Doodlebug product that we're featuring on our cards this week is called Stick With It. It's two sheets of double-sided adhesive shapes. The one we're using is called "Fancy That" and it's full of swirls and sentiments. All you do is peel off the shape (making sure to keep the top protective strip in place) and lay the shape where you would like to feature it on your card or project. As soon as you have your design laid out, peel off the protective strip and apply your Doodlebug Sugar Coating glitter, rubbing over it with your fingers to make sure it adheres well. Doodlebug has a fabulous line of Sugar Coating Glitter, with a variety of colors, that each of the Design Team members is using. Flock can also be used, and Michelle has some awesome colors of Fun Flock too!! I LOVED this product! It was sooooo fun to use, and the adhesive shapes are awesome!!! They peel off the sheet so nicely, and the top protective strip is really easy to peel off too. Sometimes it's so hard to peel those top layers off, but not so with Stick With It's from Doodlebug ! Super duper easy.

Can I share a little tip with you??? After you adhere the double sided adhesive shape to your project, before removing the protective tape, rub your embossing buddy over the paper. That will help to keep the excess glitter from sticking. After removing the tape and applying the glitter, flip the paper over and flick it with your finger a few times. That should also help to remove the glitter without it blowing up into your face!!!

Want to see what the rest of the Dream Team came up with using the new Doodlebug adhesive shapes???? I've got the links to each of their blogs right here, so click on them now and pay a visit....you're going to LOVE what they've done!

Charmaine
Cindy
Laurie
Michelle
Tosha

Card deets:
Stamps: Inkadinkado/Birds Galore, Verve/Heart to Heart
Paper: Old Olive, My Minds Eye
Other: Doodlebug Stick With It's

A Cup of Coffee?

Ummmmmm, does anyone read this blog anymore? You all have been soooooo quiet lately. I don't just want to be writing and talking to myself here, so if you're still out there, say hi once in a while!!!!
The other day, I was in the mood to use up some of my scraps. My drawer, literally, is overflowing. I should take a picture of it to prove it to you. So, I either have to start using my scraps for cards, or, {{gasp}}, I'm gonna have to throw some out. I can't even begin to think about that option. So, scrap cards it is.

I found lots of yummy scraps to work with....lime green, orange and hot pink....fabulous. It's a touch of summer all over again.

The coffee cup image is from the fabulous Impression Obsession clear stamp set called, appropriately, Smell The Coffee. You can find it at Stamper's Dream. I don't even like coffee but I love this set!

This is a card anyone can make. In one fell swoop, you can use three pieces of that scrap paper stash that's threatening to eat you alive. I know I'm not the only one with this problem, LOL! Maybe if we can commit to making one scrap card everyday, this little "problem" might correct itself.......lol.

Well, I'm not going to go into deep detail about my card because, well, lets face it. It's straightforward and totally uncomplicated. The most difficult thing about it is the paper-pieced coffee cup! If you DO find yourself with questions about the card though, be sure and drop me a comment. In fact, drop me a comment even if you don't have a question!

In case you haven't visited Stamper's Dream lately, stop in today and see all the fun new "stuff" Michelle's gotten in over the past month. She's gotten TONS of new JustRite products...the new Classic Oval Stampers, and the new Classic Oval Ensemble, which includes a whole bunch of oval borders and centers! And just this week, she got in some new Impression Obsession stamps and My Favorite Things stamps! Just in time for the holidays.....

Well, it's BSF morning today. I need to get myself ready to go. It has been very stressful here lately. Quite honestly, I feel like my life is spinning out of control. What can go wrong, has. I don't even know what to pray for anymore because the list is soooo long. And it's not long with superficial stuff either. It's clear, God is putting me right where he wants me, at his feet. Every day he is proving to me that I cannot do this alone. That I am powerless to control those things spinning out of control in front of me. He has placed me in the desert, of that I have no doubt. The only thing I have to grasp onto at this point is this promise...."I have plans for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). I am reminding myself of this hundreds of times a day.

Hugs,
Amy

Another "S" Flake Card!

Yep, I still can't say the word yet. Too early. But it's not too early to stamp some "s" flakes! Tee-hee.

I was back at it with my new Hero Arts "s" flake set this weekend. As I said last week, I truely adore this "s" flake image, I'm sure it will be a favorite for a long time.

I thought it would make a perfect faux ornanment for my card, so I stamped it in Real Red, cut it out using my Nestie circle dies, then I cut out a Real Red scalloped die to layer my "s" flake image on, and then I made a little silver topper for my ornament, but you can hardly see it in this picture. I also added a real wire hook, just like you'd find on a real ornament. And the final touch was a satin dual sided May Arts Ribbon!

Underneath the ornament, I stamped more "s" flakes on a piece of Old Olive cardstock using Whisper White craft ink. I layered that with Real Red cardstock as well. The final layer is Cuttlebugged using my "s"flake embossing folder.

I love how it turned out and I hope you do to! I'm off to BSF, so no time to chat.

Hugs,
Amy

Snowflakes and Butterflies

Even though it's 70 and GORGEOUS here today, I'm going to go out on a limb to share a snowflake card with you! I can barely get that "s" word out of my mouth because I know soon enough it will be here covering the ground and trees. From here on out in this post, I'll refer to them as "s"flakes:)!


Guess what? I have found a new favorite "s"flake set! That's right, this Hero Arts clear stamp set called Winter's Butterfly is my new "go to" set when it comes to winter themed cards. The large "s"flake found in this set is SOOOO cool and so hip as far as "s"flakes go. I love that it looks like branches make up the "s"flake!


I started out with a Kraft card base and stamped it with the multiple snowflake image, all the way around the outer edges of the base. I used Whisper White craft ink. Then I took another piece of Kraft cardstock, cut it to size and then whisked it through my Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder. The large "s"flake was stamped on a piece of acetate with white Stazon. I then laid it over the Cuttlebug layer and sewed around it to adhere it to the layer. You can't see it in this picture, but before I punched the butterflies out, I first stamped one of the "s"flake images in Versamark and sprinkled very fine glitter over it. Then I punched out the butterflies!


Such a fun, fun card. I can't wait to do so much more with this set! If you want this Hero Arts set for yourself, head on over to see Michelle at Stamper's Dream. She'll take care of you lickity-split and have you ready to stamp some "s"flakes real soon!


Hugs,
Amy

Precious Peas

I promised you another pea card yesterday, but I really wanted my post yesterday about God and my life to be center stage for the day. So instead, you're getting the peas today:)!!! Aren't they cute???? Remember, it's from Penny Black and you can find it here at Stamper's Dream.

If you remember, the first pea card I did I paper pieced. This one I colored with my Copics to give you another option of how to use the stamp. One is a little complicated, the other sooooo easy! It's great when you can use stamps in different ways to get two completely different looks. And since I know many of you don't care for paper piecing as much as I do, I thought I'd color with markers instead!

I'm not going to go into deep explanation about this card, it's fairly self explanatory, and I know you have other blogs to visit today. I took my color inspiration from the peas (lime green), the earth (Brocade Blue) and the Christmas hats (Real Red). My Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder saw alot of action on this card too!

Well, today I've got lots of errands to run. I'm excited to be able to watch Youngest Son play his football game at 330p this afternoon, and watch Eldest Son on the field marching tonight at the varsity football game. It's beautiful today (again), so we're anticipating a fabulous night for watching high school football!

I can't sign off without thanking everyone that left such loving comments yesterday after reading my post. I got a call minutes after I hit the "publish post" button from a pastor at my church who I had sent the link to (Hi Paster Monica!!). She called to tell me that she had been struggling coming up with something to say at an upcoming meeting later in the morning, so she had sat down at her computer when she walked into the office for the day and prayed to God to give her direction on what she should say. Then she opened up her email, saw the email from me saying "please read this today", and promptly clicked the link to my post. In the matter of a few minutes, Pastor Monica had the words and inspiration with which to address her group of women later that morning! Isn't God good? Just had to share that little story with you. I can't tell you how good it feels, through your comments, to know that, A.) I am not going through this alone, there are many of you out there experiencing pain in your life as well, and B.) so MANY of you have been praying continually for my family since our trials first began, and that gives me so much comfort! Thank you soooo much for those prayers. I am eternally grateful that I have a blog that allows me to share my thoughts and feelings! And I am soooo thankful for each and every one of you!

Hugs,
Amy

Peas On Earth

I fell in love with this World Peas stamp from Penny Black the first time I laid eyes on it! I got it from Stamper's Dream.

I went all out and decided to paper piece the earth AND the peas! Yikes. It was a little putzy, but oh, it turned out so adorable. These photos don't do the card justice.

I found a piece of blue scrap designer paper to stamp and cut my earth from. Then I stamped the image again on a bright green designer scrap for the green part of the earth. This is where the putzy stuff came in. Those continents are small! But, I managed to stay focused and eventually got them all cut out and glued on to the blue paper. After cutting the peas out, I mounted them onto the main image with dimensionals. I colored their hats with my Copics.

A little bit of straight stitch sewing and a beautiful ribbon finished the card off perfectly! If you like this card, be sure and come back tomorrow to see the other card I made using this fabulous stamp!

Well, I don't have a lot of time to chit chat today. I have BSF this morning, so I need to jump in the shower and get ready. Then I have a business lunch, and then tonight the boys have choir and Hubby and I are going out to eat with his sister and BIL and dad. Have a grea day!

Hugs,
Amy

It's Beginning to look alot like......

Christmas!!!

Michelle at Stamper's Dream sent me this beautiful stamp from The Artful Stamper a few weeks ago, but I've been hanging on to it just waiting for the perfect time to use it. You see, I have a little secret to tell you. I have a hard time stamping for Christmas in the dead of summer (or for that matter, stamping for summer in the dead of winter)! Since it's so cool and fall like here, I took this baby out a few days ago and got down to some Christmas!

Have you ever used a stamp from The Artful Stamper? This is my first experience with their stamps, and I have to say, I think I love them. They are really suitable for paper piecing, which I'm a big fan of.

If you look closely, you can see I paper pieced the holly leaves and berry on my card, as well as the little decorative element on the bottom of the ornament. I was going to paper piece the trees too, but decided against it. I colored them with my Copics instead. I'm not 100% crazy about how I colored in the snow, but I can promise you, I'll be working on correcting that in the coming weeks. For this card, I just used my Uniball white gel pen to color the snow. There's got to be a better way. I'll have to keep my eyes open on SCS to see how other stampers use this cool stamp!

I am a kraft cardstock freak these days, using it on nearly every card I make. And I'm also hooked on using my Polka Dot background stamp to make white polka dots on my kraft cardstock! For this card, I wanted the white polka dots to simulate snow...did it work? I used a mask to cover the ornament and then stamped the backgrounder so I wouldn't have polka dots inside my ornament...smart uh?

The main panel is mounted on a base of Riding Hood Red, one of SU's newest In Colors (I think that's what it's called). I really LOVE all the new colors...here's the order in which I like them (or the ones that I've tried so far)...Kiwi Kiss (LOOOOOOVE it), Baja Breeze, Red Riding Hood, and Tangerine Tango. I have not tried Pacific Point (toooooo bright for me if you can believe it), or Pink Pirouette (I will definitely be getting this color the next time I order).

Well, it's been a busy week here at Heartfelt Greetings. I might take a blogging break tomorrow. But I'll be back on Friday for sure with another great recipe for you! I'll give you a little hint....it's something that is served hot, in a bowl...and you eat it with a spoon! I don't want to give it all away, so be sure and come back Friday to see what recipe I'm going to share.

Please don't forget to vote over at the JustRite Blog...I'v decided against begging you to vote for me (although I'll be honest and tell you I DID beg my family and close friends here at home to vote for me, LOL) and am instead just encouraging you to vote for whichever project YOU like the best. I am hoping this doesn't turn into a popularity contest. Every women who has a project in the contest did an amazing job and is worthy of your vote! Have a great day! We'll see you Friday!

Hugs,
Amy

Playing with my JustRite Stamper

Have I told you lately how much I really, really, really love my JustRite Stamper? Well, if I haven't told you lately, let me remind you...I love my JustRite Stamper! And this week, each of the design team members for Stamper's Dream is featuring some specially made cards and projects to highlight this great product! Today is my day, tomorrow is Carolyn King, Wednesday is Charmaine Ikach, Thursday is Kurtis Admundson, Laurie Schmidlin is on Friday, and Tosh Leyendekker wraps up the week long celebration on Saturday!

I have the C-45 Monogram Stamper Kit, which comes with one monogram stamper, four border designs, and two sizes of interlocking standard fonts. There is an double-sided ink pad that fits inside the monogram stamper. One side is pre-inked with black, and the other side can be filled with the ink color of your choice. The stamper comes in a beautiful box in which you can store both your stamper AND its supplies.

After I got my JustRite Monogram Stamper, I had to buy all the accessories to go with it from my friend Michelle over at Stamper's Dream, of course!

I played with my JustRite Monogram Stamper a little bit this weekend for two reasons. One, to make a Welcome to College card for my niece who is a freshman at North Dakota State University this fall, and two, to make a fun little Halloween project with some supplies I had hanging around.

First off, here's the card I will be sending to my niece. Like me, she loves pinks and oranges, so I had to make a card using those colors. The greatest thing that you can do with the JustRite Monogram Stamper is personalize your cards in any way you want. You can make a stamp with just exactly the right words to convey something meaningful to your recipient. In this case, I wanted to tell Rachel to have tons of FUN at college! And with the Small Letter Set that I bought for my JustRite Monogram Stamper, I was able to do just that. The Small Letter Set contains TONS of tiny letters that you can use to spell any word or phrase you want in your Monogram Stamper!

I did the same thing for the little Halloween treat holder I made with a tiny paper mache (?) round box I've had in my stash for eons. To make it, I inked up the sides of the box with my Pumpkin Pie ink pad and a sponge, and then glued a black polka dot ribbon around the side of the lid. On top, I had to create my own little Halloween saying with my JustRite Monogram Stamper that said ..."Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet", which is a popular saying when you have boys in the house:)! I tried to find some feet to put in the middle of my sentiment, but alas, none could be found. So, instead, I made an eyeball using my circle punches. I made the eyeball bloodshot by adding some red veins with a marker! You can see from my photo here that I put Halloween M&M's inside my little box. I {{{heart}}} the new Halloween colored M&M's! So much better than the orange and black, don't you think?

Well, I hope today's post pushed you over the edge to buy your own JustRite Monogram Stamper! Prices increased September 1st for new JustRite products, so it's a good time to buy your stamper now before the old stock at Stamper's Dream is gone!! Michelle wants to get rid of her old stock (which isn't really "old" at all, tee-hee) and is keeping the old prices for those products. New stock and all the fabulous new products will have higher prices instituted September 1st. Does that make sense? Let's help Michelle sell out her old stock, which benefits her AND you, ok??? Old stock=original pricing, new stock/products=new pricing. If I've confused you, just email me, ok? I'll try to clarify if I need to.

Well, today is going to be one of those lazy, lazy days. I have a bunch of phone calls/appts to set up, but other than that, I think I need to focus on cleaning a little bit and taming the laundry that's threatening to overtake our home. Have a great day!

Oh, I almost forgot something really special...tee-hee! Do you want a chance to WIN a JustRite Monogram Stamper for your very own???? I happen to know that if you go and visit Michelle at her blog, Stamper's Dream, and leave a comment on this post, she will give one away in celebration of the fun we'll be having with the design team this week! A winner will be announced on Sunday. Go check it out!!! Woo-hoo!

Hugs,
Amy

How About A Carameled Apple?

I luuuuuuuv carameled apples! There is nary a better sweet in the fall than one of these ooey-gooey treats!

Impression Obsession is the creator behind this uber-adorable clear stamp set called An Apple A Day which I got from Stamper's Dream...I love it! Not only is it fun to color (I colored mine with Copic Markers), it's fun to embellish too. I didn't have any fun beads to embellish my apples with, but I did add a few gingham checked ribbons to the apple sticks to punch it up a bit.


Can't you just imagine the adorable Halloween cards you can make with this set? I like the idea of a sweet Halloween message instead of a spoooooky message. This is a perfect set for those of you who like the sweets associated with Halloween but not the scary stuff like ghosts and witches, LOL. Carameled covered apples works for me!!!

Speaking of Stamper's Dream, Michelle is getting all the fun holiday stamps in! You really have to check out all the amazing news stamps from The Artful Stamper...like this adorable Christmas pup......or this AMAZING bird of peace (I've got to have this bird!!) stamp. Also new into the store are the newest Basic Grey 6x6 pads like Ambrosia (this is a must for me too) and Eva. Utterly delish. If you've been looking for these, head over to Stamper's Dream today to buy yours today.

Well, I'm happy to report the first day of school went off without a hitch. Youngest Son thought high school was so awesome! Eldest Son seemed somewhat disappointed that he didn't feel any different as a senior. I think it was sort of anti-climactic for him, to be honest. Of course, I was stuck signing a zillion pieces of paper last night stating that I understood the rules and regulations of the classroom and would accept full responsibility should my cherubs misbehave. I signed them, but if they misbehave, they're on their own to deal with the consequences, LOL. Just kidding.

I feel the need to update you all on a few things around here that I'm sure you are wondering about....

1. No, I have not heard anything back from the hospital. I do know through my girlfriend (who works there) that they have not hired anyone yet. The gentleman I had interviewed with took a few weeks off while he brother was dying. Apparently the brother did pass away last week, so the job has been relegated to the back burner.

2. Still no job for Doug. Things are very quiet...not a lot out there. We are both struggling to remain optimistic.

3. It has been nearly one year since Doug lost his job. I cannot honestly believe one year later we are still unemployed.

4. To all my BSF friends that read my blog.....I am sad to say that I have decided to resign as a Discussion Leader for BSF. To say I've struggled with my faith this past year is an understatement. After much reflection, I have come to the conclusion I am in no way able to shepherd other woman in their faith at this stage of my life. I need to focus on my own healing. So, my plan is to remain in BSF for my 7th year, but as a student, not a leader. I will focus on my own walk with God instead of shepherding others in theirs. We must all, at times, examine our spiritual walks, and this appears to be the time for me. I have peace about my decision. But I still feel guilty that I've struggled so much. I think as Christians, we feel that our faith shouldn't waver if we are firmly rooted in Christ. But I find comfort that Paul and many other disciples in the bible wavered at times in their faith as well, and they walked right beside his earthly flesh! But Christ knew their hearts were in the right place. And I know that my heart is absolutely in the right place, it's just a little battered right now. This is the best path for me. I have no desire to walk away from BSF or a Christ-centered life. It's just time to heal right now.

Bless you.

Hugs,
Amy

Eeking Out Summer

While everyone else out there in blogland switches over to stamping fall and winter cards, I've decided to stick with summer for a few more days yet (actually, it might even be more than that because the fall bug just hasn't bitten me yet for some reason. I'm still into bright colors). I'm not ready for summer to be over. That could be because it's been such a mild, cooler summer here in MN. I think we've only had like 5 days in the 90's.

A few weeks ago, I got a bunch of summer-like stamps in the mail from my friend Michelle over at Stamper's Dream. They were perfect for building a "summer scene", something I'm not so good at. So I decided I'd rise to the challenge, and I'm happy to say, I like the results!

I knew I wanted to use all three stamps (the palm trees, the lounge chair, and the sun) on one card. So I took a piece of watercolor paper and painted the whole thing starting with sand, then water, and then the sky. It's very abstract-ish, not perfect at all, and I like that. Then I stamped the trees, the chair and the sun with Memento Ink in Rich Cocoa. I actually stamped the lounge chair twice, once on the sand, and once on a scrap piece of cardstock so I could color the mattress red. Then I cut it out and glued it onto the chair I had stamped on the sand. I used Copics to color the leaves on the tree.

The sentiment I used on the front of the card came from a Stampendous set called Summer Messages. I thought it was PERFECT for my beach scene! Do you wonder how you can use stamps like this year round? Well, I figured you'd be asking yourself that, so I made one more card to share with you today doing just that...using seasonal stamps for an "anytime" card.

See how I used the same sentiment on this second card that I did on the fun beach card above? Actually, I used the sunshine stamp too! This card can be given year round, not just in the summertime! Don't let seasonal type stamps limit your ability to use them year round. Get a few out today and see what you can do with them to make year round cards, ok?

Have a great day.

Hugs,
Amy

A Great Discovery!

ETA: Don't forget to vote for your favorite JustRite Stampin' Hopeful today! You've only got till 9pm tonight to vote. Hugs!

Remember when I showed you my new inspiration journal a few months ago? I found the notebook at a place in Northfield, MN called Digs. At that point, my mojo was seriously lacking, and I needed something (pronto) to spur it back into action. Well, as you know, the amazing journal did the trick.

Imagine my excitement when I discovered recently that Archiver's now carries this amazing line of eco-friendly journals created by Ecojot! {{{{Squeal}}}}}!!!! Even more exciting for me is that I just found the Ecojot website this morning, which contains more amazing colors and patterns than you could EVER imagine! But wait, through the Ecojot website, I discovered that the designer and owner of Ecojot (her name is Carolyn Gavin) has her own blog called designer jots--{{{{double squeal}}}}}! Now I can look at her amazing designs ALL THE TIME! Seriously, you MUST check out these two sites....her product line and designs are AMAZING. They will inspire you more than you can imagine. Her sites are GORGEOUS!!! I plan on buying another journal from Archivers to use as my BSF notebook. The problem I'm going to have is deciding WHICH pattern to buy, LOL.

Moving on, I suppose you want to see a card, uh? Is that the only reason you come here, for the goods? OK, I'll give you what you want. Last week, I received a package of goodies from Michelle at Stamper's Dream. One of the things she sent me was the new Cuttlebug folder called Bird Call. Now, if you're anything like me, you LOVE all the new Cuttlebug folders, but are curious as to how you can use the ones that are not the typical "all over" patterns (like Swiss Dot and Houndstooth). I wanted to create a few cards to help show you exactly how you can use them, woo-hoo!

For the first card, I put a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock in my bird folder. Then, I merely painted the embossed image with my Aqua Painter! That's right, I used Kiwi Kiss for the reed grasses, and Twinkling H20's on the bird. That is it. Easy, right? Then I matted the image, mounted it on a Kiwi Kiss card base, and I was pretty much done. Except for the sentiment. My sentiment is from Verve's Artful Elegance stamp set (newly released!). I stamped it on Very Vanilla cardstock, punched it out with a 1" in circle punch, distressed it with Ranger Distress ink in Tea Stain (I actually distressed the whole bird image with the same stuff!) and adhered it to the lower left front of the card. I added a scrap piece of patterned paper (Basic Grey) underneath it horizontally to bring some of the teal color of the bird to the lower part of the card.


For the second card, I put a piece of Old Olive cardstock in the Bird Call embossing folder. I did it again with a piece of Basic Black cardstock. Then I cut out the bird from the black cardstock and mounted it on the Old Olive embossed image. I matted it with Very Vanilla cardstock and sewed a straight stitch around it. The sentiment I used is from Motivational Center, which I got at CHF. I stamped it with black Stazon onto acetate and then sewed it to the embossed image.

I hope my cards today helped you figure out how YOU are going to use your new Cuttlebug Bird Call embossing folder. I'm sure you'll come up with even more ways than me!

Still no news on the job front. Doug's search has stalled big time, and I haven't heard from the hospital yet. If anyone lives in this area and reads my blog, AND is hiring for a job, CALL ME!!!! I can do just about anything, I think:).

Hugs,
Amy

K.I.S.S (Keepin' It Soooo Simple) Saturdays

Sometimes, keepin' it simple is the way to go. Oftentimes, the stamps you use dictate simplicity. This solitary tree stamp (which, by the way, is part of a clear set from Memory Box called Of A Feather, available at Stamper's Dream) said "simple" to me, so that's where I went with it. I watercolored a simple grassy hill (using my Aqua Painter) using Kiwi Kiss. Then I stamped the tree with Momento Rich Cocoa, and colored in the leaves using a Copic marker. The tiny birds below the tree also come from Of A Feather. I stamped them with Rich Cocoa as well.

The sentiment comes from the CHF set called Motivational Centers. I love the tall vertical nature of the sentiment, which works perfectly with the tall tree.

I matted the image with a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock and then mounted it on a Kraft card base. The whole card maybe took 10 minutes, which I love! I will have to make some more of these for my stash this weekend.

I wanted to thank all of you who have voted for me so far in the JustRite Stampin Hopefuls competition over on the JustRite blog! I appreciate your vote of support! Right now I'm in 4th place, that Michele Kovack (Thoughts of a Scrapbooking Cardmaker) is rockin it with the votes, she's currently in 1st place! Michele is such a sweetie, I'm soooo happy for her! If you haven't voted yet, and like my project, please vote for me! Click on this link to take you where you need to go to vote, ok? The top 3 from this round will advance into the finals which will be in a few weeks. Hugs to everyone for helping me out!

Unfortunately, I did not hear from the hospital regarding the job this week. My girlfriend who works there found out that the gentleman I interviewed with was out all week with a family emergency. So far, no one has been hired. That's the good news! I will just keep praying that this is God's will for me.

We don't have many plans this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some stamping accomplished! I do need to bring Eldest Son to the store for some new tennis shoes for school. I've bought the most basic school supplies for both of them so far. High school is nice in that they pretty much only need paper and pencils, folders and a calculator to start out with! No kleenex boxes, crayons, rulers, markers, colored pencils, ect for the high schoolers! That helps with the budget. The biggest expense outside of tennis shoes for both of them was their new backpacks. Their old ones (a few years old at least) were unusable for another year. You should have seen Eldest Son's backpack at the end of the school year....the thing was falling apart from all the wear and tear it gets! They really do take a beating when they carry them from class to class when they're in high school.

It looks like it's shaping up to be a beautiful weekend! I turned off the air conditioning this morning because the temp was 57 and it was breezy! Woo-hoo! I looooooove when the weather is like this! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and are able to sneak some time in for stamping. Hope you like today's simple card!

Hugs,
Amy

Birds of A Feather....

This is a new set I got from Stamper's Dream. It is from Memory Box and is called Of A Feather. It's birds. You know I love birds. What can I say?

For some reason, on Sunday when I sat down to stamp this, I was in a minimalistic mood. That's not typically my style, but oh, did it feel great! This card has major impact because of the colors I chose (Kiwi Kiss, Kraft and turquoise), but on the other hand, it's so simplistic in nature. It felt free to stamp so simply! Just about everything I made that night turned out the same way. I'll share those cards later this week.

See that luscious ribbon? That's from Stamper's Dream too. It was my inspiration for the whole card. I love blue and green together, so that's what I went with. The ribbon is 5/8" and is from May Arts.

Today is my last bible study class for the summer. I was studying the book of Daniel via Beth Moore. I have to say, it was my first Beth Moore study and I found it to be ok. Daniel is such a hard book to understand (pre-millennium-ism ring a bell for any of you that have studied Daniel???), and I found the 12 week course was too quick to really learn anything significant and indepth. That must be the BSF'r in me talking....you need 31+ weeks to really dig deep to anything in the bible:)! I'm glad I gave Beth Moore a try, she is such a DYNAMIC woman. Does anyone know if she's got a autobiography out? I would love to learn more about her life. What I enjoyed most about her bible study is LISTENING to her give her lectures each week. Wow, I think I could listen to her forever! And she's cute as a button too.

Well, no word yesterday from the hospital. I am holding out that today's the day. If not, what do you do? Keep on prayin'.

Hugs,
Amy

Back To School Fun

I was asked by a good friend to make two back-to-school cards that she could send to her cousin's daughters. It was just a few months ago that their mom died of cancer. I think it's so wonderful that Ann (my friend) has been sending these girls cards throughout the summer, encouraging them in the normal things of life (something a mom would do). And because I think it's so wonderful, I wanted to do my part to make these cards a little extra special for them. I don't typically make cards for my customers this in-depth, but it was the least I could do to help in some small way.

The first thing I thought of when I thought "back-to-school" was "file folder". I had this file folder template already on hand, so I was good to go. This particular card is for the older daughter, it's a bit more teenager-like with the doodle paper.


As you can see, I used my JustRite Stamper (I got mine at Stamper's Dream) to personalize the front of my card. I'm loving my JR Stamper for this sort of stuff! I cut and embossed the personalized stamp with a Nestie, but before I took it out of the die, I sponged Cool Caribbean in the center of it so the inside was blue and the edge was white. Doesn't it pop (!) when you do this?

Inside, I wanted to make a little insert that looked like a piece of paper, which I achieved thanks to my lined paper backgrounder I got from CHF. I inked it up with Cool Caribbean ink and used a red marker for the vertical red stripe. I wanted to keep the insert inspirational in nature, and thought this quote, by Theodore Roosevelt (Motivational Centers by CHF) was the perfect quote for a teenage girl in a rough spot. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are". Live in the moment. After you've lost your mom, I'm not sure there is much else you can or should do. I just felt this quote would remind her just to do the best she can given the circumstances.

On a side note, the insert could also be used as a book mark for a school book (although for a young teenager, that's probably not very cool!!). Maybe she could just pin it up on her bulletin board as a reminder this next year to just live in the moment and do the best she can.

I made another card similar to this for the younger daughter, but since it's so similar, I won't be showing it here. I've got to get the cards mailed off to Ann today so she can get them to the girls in time for the start of school. I really hope they like them!!!

Hugs,
Amy

Thanks A Bunch

I just love how I was able to combine my Hero Arts Just Wanted clear stamp set with my Penny Black Bubbly set to make a card that totally makes "sense"...a bunch of balloons...."thanks a bunch"....get it???? I got Just Wanted at Michelle's online stamp store called Stamper's Dream....this little clear set is a must have if you send out thank you cards. It is soooo versatile, and I use it ALL the time!


Since I grew up with red tabby cats, that's the only color I thought of when it came time to color with my Copics. Someday, if that Copics Certification Class ever comes to Minneapolis, I'M GOING! I need some serious lessons on how to shade properly. My biggest problem is that I don't have enough of any one color to do shading like it should be done. But I'm cool with that, cuz man, they're expensive, and I can think of other things I should spend my money on at this point in time.


If this card alone isn't enough to make you go visit Stamper's Dream, how about if I dangle these little must-have's as incentive.....

• Kaiser Craft Pearls and Rhinestones


• New Cuttlebug folders!


• New Penny Black "Peas" Christmas stamps (oh my word, you have to check these out....but don't buy them all, leave some for me.....PEAS!!!!)


• New Christmas moose stamps from Stampendous!!!!

Michelle sent her design team an email yesterday updating us on what new products she's expecting to arrive any day, so I'll even share those with you cuz I'm so nice.....

• More Inkadinkado Winter Bird stamps!!! Woo-hoo!!!
• New Halloween and Christmas stamps from Impression Obsession!!!
• New Basic Grey paper pads!!!
• New Northwoods Rubber Stamps for the holidays!!
• Christmas paper pads (8x8) from October Afternoon!!!
• Artful Stamper stamps!!!!

Now are you convinced you need to be stalking Stamper's Dream every day waiting to see what fun, must have products arrive? I hope so!!!

Oh, and one last thing...don't buy up ALL those Penny Black Pea stamps.....or I'm gonna cry. I need some for myself (even though I hate peas, LOL!!!) And if you DO buy them all up before I buy them myself.....I'll forgive you cuz I love you.

Hugs,

Amy

Special Delivery!

Back in July, a colleague asked me to make her a baby card for twin boys. This is what I came up with, and I have to say, I love how it turned out!

The stars are from the Verve sets called Polka Stars (the big stars) and Seeing Stars (the little stars). The onesies are from Rubber Soul, which you can find at Stamper's Dream.

You can see, it's such a simple card, I really don't think detailed instructions are necessary for you to figure out how to make this yourself! The stars are adhered to the front of the card using dimensional tape. You could do the same card in more girly colors for someone having twin girls. And the design can easily be adapted for the birth of a single baby only!

I wanted to let you know that my interview at the hospital went really well yesterday! I think my lack of hospital experience is giving them some hesitation, but overall, I know I did a great job and they liked me. The hours are wonderful.....the first week it would be W/Th 12-430p, and the second week it would be M/Sa 11-430p, Th/F 12-430p, and Su 11a-11p (yikes, a 12 hour shift!!). It would rotate like that every other week. It's a total of 41 hours per pay period. I have turned it over to God. If this is his plan for me, I will be blessed with the job. If not, it's back to the drawing board and waiting for Him to reveal His plan for me. I feel like it's the perfect job and am excited about the opportunity to start a new career! If you are a praying person, please add me to your list. At the latest, they'll have a decision by next week, at the earliest, maybe by the end of this week if all goes well.

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Amy