FWF - Nobody Sweeter

I fell in love with a recent Unity "Kit of the Month".   Each kit has such a variety of stamps, and they're a great deal!
  
This kit featured a cupcake and a couple of cupcake sentiments.  I'm not lacking on either front, but these were so cute, I couldn't resist.   Here's what I mean:
  

    
These patterned papers are from Doodlebug -- this year's and last year's Valentine's Day lines.  They do say "love" and things like that, but nothing absolutely specific to the holiday... so I use them all year. 
  
Happy Stamping & Happy Friday!
  

Cuttin’ and Stampin’ DT call 2014

This post is my application to join the Cuttin' and Stampin' Design Team for 2014 as a Challenge Post Design Team Member. I have greatly enjoyed working with the team in 2013 and hope to get the chance to do so again.

I live in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, with my husband, Chris.   We're owned by two senior cats, Digit and Dusty.  I started stamping 10 years ago when Chris fell ill and I needed a quiet hobby to fill my time when I wasn't caring for him.

I like to travel, and have gotten to stop at lots of wonderful stamping stores and stamping events (and, of course, meet lots of terrific stampers) along the way.  It was on one of my trips that I got a chance to meet Tammy and we were like old friends the very first time we met -- and that's how I learned about Cuttin' and Stampin'.

My gallery is at SplitCoastStampers, where I also participate in the forums as "StampingSpud".  My crafting résumé includes information on published projects, past design team work, and stamping television appearances.

Here are a few projects that I think best represent my stamping style:

 

  

  

Thanks so much for your time and your consideration of this application.

Weekly Challenge #43 - Autumn Harvest

 
#43

Challenge:  Autumn Harvest

October 29 - November 4, 2013

It's harvest time!  We're ready to cool down and watch those beautiful fall colors change from greens to yellows to oranges.  It's such a pretty time, isn't it?  Let's celebrate that time with some fun fall projects!

My card uses Autumn Harvest papers from Doodlebug along with several coordinating colors of solid Bazzill Basics cardstock.  Couldn't resist adding the little owl (also from Doodlebug) and adding little gold gems for eyes.

The "Welcome Autumn" sentiments comes from the Autumn Groves stamp set from Paper Smooches, stamped in dark green.   The branch that the owl is perched on is actually a tree die from the Tree 1 Die set, and the leaves are from the Leaves 1 Die Set.

There was lots of cutting and assembly time put into this card, but it certainly wasn't difficult... just a little thinking outside of the box to turn the tree into a tree branch.

We certainly hope you'll join us and create your own Autumn Harvest project!  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.   Thanks for playing along.  We will be announcing the winners on November 8, 2013.  You can link your creations HERE.

Happy Stamping!

Weekly Challenge #37 - Use Three Punches

#37

Challenge:   Use 3 punches

September 17 - 23rd, 2013 

My reaction when I heard about this challenge was "Oh, that'll be easy.  I have three punches!"  That's not how it turned out at all.  I had in mind that I'd use a border punch as one of my three, but none of my border punches seemed to coordinate well with any of the other cards I started.  

On this, my fourth or fifth attempt, I decided that I liked the Martha Stewart zig-zag border punch for a Halloween project.  After all, this Doodlebug "Halloween Parade" line includes chevron patterns, so a zig-zag border would work! 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Salutations (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Criss-Cross Solid Cardstock (Bazzill Basics), Halloween Parade (Doodlebug)
Paint/Ink: Memento dye ink in Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), chalk ink in Charcoal (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Glitter stickers & Lilac baker's twine (Doodlebug), Corner rounder, tag, and small circle punches (EK Success), Zig-Zag border punch (Martha Stewart)

So after initially struggling with the three punches, I actually ended up using four:  The zig-zag border, the tag, the small circle (hole in tag) and a corner rounder.

My particular tag punch did not have a larger nesting tag punch to accompany it, so I just stuck my purple tag on a piece of the multi-colored chevron Doodlebug paper and trimmed the outer piece to size.   Then I punched the hole through both layers and threaded the Baker's twine through it.
 

We hope you'll join us and make a project using three punches!  It could be a scrapbook page, card, etc.  You can link your project here.  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.  
 

Thanks for playing along!  We will be announcing the winners on September 27, 2013.

Happy Stamping!

Dave, Lila, Susie & Tiffany

Had yet another delightful stamping roadtrip with Lila this past weekend. It rocked!

We decided to spend the night in Twin Falls before heading up to Hailey for our class, and we made good use of our time there.  Unfortunately, we wrapped up our visit after 7:00 p.m. and were unable to visit Scrappin' Girlfriends. {See you next time, Michelle!} We had a sumptuous dinner and then headed to the hotel room where we stamped and colored.

Saturday morning, we were up comfortably early (without the use of an alarm because we were so excited!) and made it to Hailey by 10:30. We were glad to get to Susie Paperie early so we could choose our seats, get our supplies settled, and (most importantly) shop. There was even time to grab divine rosemary chicken salad sandwiches at the Big Belly Deli right around the corner. BBD supplied ginger snap and peanut butter cookies for the class and they were awesome, too.

Susie Paperie was a delight! So much fun stuff packed into the store, but it felt completely open and airy. Owner Adrienne was wonderful about everyone's needs and was nothing but helpful and gracious all day. I'll probably be ordering from her soon... she offers Copics and Memento inks and stamps galore! SP is a great place to shop or take a class. She has a whole wall that's covered with chalkboard paint, and she's got her class schedule written there. Love that!

After lunch but before our two fantastic classes with Dave Brethauer from Memory Box, we got a chance to meet Dave and talk to him a little. He was impressed that we drove 6 hours round-trip to take his class. He even blogged about us!

Our first class had to do with color blending and shading with Prismacolor pencils. I was baffled initially as to how we were going to get our butterflies to look as etherial and well-blended as Dave's sample, but he made it so easy! Most amazing is that he can color upside-down! He was very conscious of the whole room and came to each table to demonstrate each technique. It was very helpful. Here's one of my blended butterflies on cream paper.

Next came the watercolor class, and this is where I learned the most. I have watercolor pencils, water-based paints, and even watercolor paper... but I wasn't using any of these to their full potential. Even the most basic thing was new to me: the paper has to be wet! (Who knew?) In addition to coloring in stamped images, we also colored swaths of paper and stamped on top. Here are two examples of the latter, using Twinkling H2O's:


If you are lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance of one of Dave's classes, I highly recommend it. He'll be in Colorado Springs next at a store I got to visit in Jan '07 called Simple Pleasures and then after that in the Northeast.

Another great weekend with a great friend! And, Lila, "Your hands are full!".

Happy Stamping!

Memorable Memorial Week

Didn't have any big plans for the week before Memorial Day, but I had a few fun stamping surprises to share with you.

On Tuesday night, I had a chance to meet with Amy. I did not know that this would turn into a stamping-related event. She was in Boise (for the first time) representing Sigma Sigma Sigma, the sorority to which I belong. We discussed some of our collegiate experiences and our hopes for an alumnae chapter to be formed here. Somewhere in the conversation, she was talking about crocheting on the plane and said something that I thought might have sounded like "I make cards". So as we were packing up to leave the Boise favorite Flying Pie (we enjoyed Gourmet Night), I asked her "So, did I hear you say that you make cards?" And that led to another hour or two of discussion... ink pads, Greek letter stamps, etc. I can't wait to hang out with Amy again when I travel to Colorado and/or next time she's in Boise. We had a million things in common. So a quick shout out to Amy: Hi Amy!

Then I noticed an ad on the Stampington Web site advertising the Summer 2008 Take Ten magazine that's due out on June 1. I clicked on it and read through the promotional page... and then I saw a card I recognized right there on the page! It was a card I submitted back in November '07 and it had been used in the Take Ten and Catch Up issues recently to advertise the coming Take Ten. So here's a quick glance at what I saw. The print is awfully small, but it looks like its on page 3. I'll keep you posted if any of my other submissions are inside. Oooh and I can't wait to see the work of Teri Anderson, a former Idaho Scrapper. She's the Guest Artist.

Tonight, I cleaned off some desktop space in my craft room. The room might never be completely cleaned and organized, but at least I can stamp in there again. It'll be nice to have a place to hide out and stamp!

In enabling news, Frugalities is offering everything 49% off until May 28th. No coupon code necessary. I noticed they have some Daisy Bucket stamps for $1.17!

Happy Stamping!

News & Happenings

I'm heading down the road on another stamping adventure... this time to Eugene, Oregon for Copic Marker Certification Training. Through my regularly-scheduled blog-hopping, I learned that a few stamping stars (like Cambria and Joy) will be there, too. I can't wait!

I've highlighted a few places on the map that I'd like to stop. We're planning to cross paths with Courtney. Stampin' Cat Studio has been on my wish-list for months and I'm glad I'll get to stop there. We're heading there earlier in the trip than originally planned because our first route is too dangerous. That's right... one of the mountain passes is closed and another has 254" of snow on the side of the road (yes, upwards of TWENTY FEET). I'm also going to try to time it so I can visit Daisy Bucket on the way back. Dad is coming with me, and we're going to make an adventure out of it!

There are lots of fun new stamps and specials going on:
- CHF's Kim Hughes came out with two new sets: Nature's Silhouettes and Baked with Love
- I spy a new CUPCAKE!! It's part of Anna Wight's new birthday set at Whipper Snapper Designs, scheduled to be released on 4/15/08.
- Michael's has little plastic pebbles in their floral department that look just like Dew Drops. Yesterday, I grabbed their big bags on clearance for just $2.
- Save 35% on Crafty Secrets products at 7 Kids College Fund by using code CRAFTY35.
- justjohanna has a special savings set for April -- save 25% on a 5-stamp set which includes adorable owl
- Viva Las Vegastamps is having a big sale on their grab bags.
- Flourishes released Menswear and Siberian Iris.
- Gina K. Designs is preparing to launch a new line of stamps called Kindred Spirits.

Oh yes, and if you're local to Boise, don't miss the Re:Use Market. It's only about the size of a closet, but is it ever fun! The price is right, too -- everything's free for the taking. TIP: Bring a bag. They'll be open Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th -- check their Web site for hours. My last visit there was so much fun! I got a couple of 3-ring binders, a wallpaper sample book, 2 fabric sample books, some wonderful tile samples, a few small slabs of Corian, and a handful of rub-on letters. It's truly a treasure-trove for any crafter! I can't wait to run some of the fabric and wallpaper through my Big Shot!

I'll be gone for a while... learning, playing, and exploring.

Happy Stamping!

New Releases (and some are on sale!)

I have lots of fun information today on new stamp releases! There's an industry tradeshow called MemoryTrends that's going on right now. Many companies have released new stamps to coincide with the show, others with their traditional 15th of the month, and others just 'because'.

- Daisy Bucket Designs started its own line of papers and paper embellishments early in 2006. These items were textured and lovely. Now there are stamps that coordinate! (I'll be visiting them in Hermiston, OR with Lila in 44 hours or so... can't wait! Hope her trunk is big enough!)

- BasicGrey has been producing fabulous papers, embellishments, tools and the like for a while now... and guess what? They've got a brand new stamp offering too!

- Autumn Leaves introduced 10 new stamp sets, but they're not on their Web site yet. No worries, I found photos for you here. My favorite is the messy stitches.

- Technique Tuesday never disappoints... their new
sets include a new alphabet, a fun swirl mini-set, and a set that focuses on leaves & trees. New chipboard frames are on their way, as well.

- Papertrey Ink had a big release on the 15th with four new sets geared for the holidays.

- Queen Kat Designs released 22 new sets, and they're all on sale this week for 25% off!

More great new stamps are on the horizon! Verve Visual is planning two PAIRS of awesome stamp sets to be released over the next few weeks. Meer Image announced on Steve's blog that they'll be relasing 27 new tiny stamps in September, and they'll be on sale for half price during the first 15 days of November to celebrate Meer Image's 15th anniversary.

I'll be back shortly after I return from my trip. Until then...

Happy Stamping!