Fun Stampers Journey

I became a Fun Stampers Journey Coach the end of April this year and can't even begin to describe how much fun I'm having with this new company.  They released their new catalog as of July 1st and it is awesome!  So many stamps with matching dies, beautiful papers, chalks, bible journaling supplies, Pan Pastel chalks, and the list goes on. 

Below are some cards I've cased or created recently for my monthly card buffet.  What is a card buffet, you ask?  For $15, you get to pick 6 cards to make from a selection of 12.  All you need to supply is adhesive - how cool is that?  We'll be celebrating Christmas in July at the buffet on July 16th.  If you're interested in attending, just pop me an e-mail and I'll get you signed up!  The buffets are held at the Village of Fox Crossing Fire Department (1326 Cold Spring Road, Neenah, WI.)

Play with my New Toys

Last week I broke down and purchased the Silhouette Cameo machine and a binding machine.  Ed is ice fishing this weekend, so I finally had a chance to really do some playing.  The attached picture is of a cookbook that I put together today using the Cameo, the binding machine, and the following Stampin' Up! supplies:  Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper (133704 Typset), Black Cardstock (121045), 3/4" Black Chevron Ribbon (130010), 3/4" Cherry Cobbler Ribbon (130012), 1/2" Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon (120992), 1/8" Black Taffeta Ribbon (119261.)

I've never been a very good cook, but for years I've wanted to take a few classes.  Well, that starts tonight.  I'm attending the Woodward Group Radio Cooking Show at Kaukauna High School.  We'll see how things go.

Hopefully this book will be filled with recipes that I've had success with.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

CREATIVE BLOG HOP! MY FIRST BLOG HOP!

This is my first Blog Hop and I want to thank Sarah Simon, who's Blog you came here from

(http://www.createwithsarah.typepad.com/), for inviting me to participate.

This card was created for a recent card swap I participated in. It utilizes the following supplies:

Really Good Greetings (W – 130330/C-130333), Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (138635 - FREE – Sale-A-Bration!), Black Chevron Ribbon (130010), Cajun Craze CS (119684), Whisper White CS (124302), Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad (126965), Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad (131173), StazOn Jet Black Ink (101406), Stampin Sponges (101610), Labels Collection Framelits (125599), Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127749).

As part of my “role” as Blog Hop participant, I was asked to answer the following questions.

What are you working on?

I am participating in a Shoebox Swap at the end of February, so my focus has been on that card. I am also planning a “Convention at Home” event for July for those of us in Northeastern Wisconsin who can't go to Salt Lake City.

How does your work differ from others in your genre?

Instead of focusing on what I like, my focus is always on “what do my customers like?” It's all about challenging and entertaining my customers. Having that focus forces me to go outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis – coloring for example! I am not a big fan of coloring, but my customers love it, so...we color at every Card Buffet!

Why do you create what you do?

My answer to this question is the same as question #2 – I create for my customers! I also enjoy giving handmade gifts, so many of my creations go to family and friends, local hospitals and other non-profit organizations.

How does your creativity process work?

I spend a lot of time looking at Pinterest and surfing the Internet for ideas and inspiration. Lately I've been starting with a card sketch and a stamp set and I see where I end up!

Next Monday, you'll be treated to the creations of Cindy Ehlers – I know you'll love what she makes! http://cindysstampingstudio.blogspot.com/

Bringing My Blog Back to Life....

Well, yesterday was a relatively balmy January Wisconsin day - with the temperature in the upper 20's.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the front door this morning to snow and a whipping bitter wind - I guess I shouldn't be surprised - it is Wisconsin after all:)  It makes for a perfect day to hunker down in my craft room with the gas fireplace on high!

As is obvious from the 18 month lag since my last post, I have been sorely lacking in updating my blog.  However, when I received an invite from the awesomely talented Sarah Simon to participate in a Blog Hop - how could I say no!  That post will appear tomorrow morning.

As a test, today I'm posting one of the cards I created for my card buffet yesterday.  We had a great time (as always!)

This card utilizes the Chalk Talk Stamp Set (W-13061/C-130634), Black 3/4" Chevron Ribbon (130010), Chalk Talk Framelits (129983), Spring Flowers Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (137365), Heart from Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (133787), Island Indigo CS (122923), Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad (126986),  Black CS (121045), Whisper White CS (124302), Rhinestones Basic Jewels (119246)

I thought this would make a nice masculine Valentines Day card.

Hope you enjoy and check back in tomorrow for my Blog Hop post!

Linda

Day 10 - Go Packers!

As I'm typing this, the Packer game is on.  It's not going well, so I'm distracting myself by taking care of some "blog business"!  Day 10 from 365 - A Daily Creative Journal asks me to "Use water as your medium/inspiration today."  The easy way to fulfill this one would be to scrapbook one of my many bodies of water photos, but I chose to go a different route - this is a fancy fold card using Island Indigo cardstock - Island Indigo is a beautiful new In-Color from the SU! Idea Book and Catalog. The card also uses Twitterpated DSP from the Occasions Mini-Catalog, the Everyday Elegance stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Mini-Catalog, and matching Island Indigo ink.  But my favorite accessory that I used was the new Blossom punch from the Occasions Mini-Catalog - so fun!

You'll notice that the card is finished with a DSP belly band.

Day 9 - Cheating AGAIN!

Obviously the author of my 365 - A Creativity Journal - was not aware of how picky I am about food.  I mean first it was using Fruits and Veggies as inspiration, and now "use your breakfast for something creative before you eat it."  What kind of a challenge is that?

So once again, I'm going off script.  I decided to use a card and envelope set I bought off the SU! Clearance Rack - so unfortunately, this set is no longer available.  I added some Pretty In Pink and Baja Breeze cardstock and ruffled ribbon to create a great set of cards.

Since we're being honest, you'll notice if you're keeping track that I actually skipped Day 8.  It challenged me to alter a book - coincidentally I had found a great tutorial on how to turn an old hard cover book into a Nook/Kindle cover.  So, I got out my awesome SU! fabric and got to work.  Well, the end result was...less than stellar - certainly not "blog worthy".  So I actually did create something on Day 8, I'm just not sharing!  Enjoy the pictures of the cards I made (in less than 10 minutes I might add!)

Day 7 - My Second for Today

Ok, as promised, I was able to accomplish Day 7 - make a stencil and use it in your work.  So, the first thing I did was make a stencil - I used the SU! Paper Doily Large Sizzlits Die to create the stencil.  I used Wisteria Wonder, Black, Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, and Whisper White cardstock, along with the beautiful Blushing Bride ruffled ribbon, and the Framed Tulips embossing folder.  The Sizzlit and the ruffled ribbon are both in the Occasions Mini-Catalog that went live on January 3rd.  At first I didn't like the card, but it's started to grow on me!

Day 6 - Apparently I Take Weekends Off

It wasn't my intent, but that's what happened.  The challenge for Day 6 had something to do with fruits and vegetables - are you kidding me?  So, I did something different - but still creative.  This is the card box we got as a make & take at Convention last summer - they don't give you enough time to finish all of them, so the box came home with me.  It comes with templates to cover the box, so all you have to come up with is how you're going to decorate it.

I used the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series paper from the Sale-A-Bration Mini-Catalog that goes live on January 24th, along with Pool Party cardstock, Calypso Coral cardstock and my favorite Antique brads.  As a reminder, the Everyday Enchantment DSP is available for FREE with a $50 order beginning on January 24th - what a deal! I finished it off by using the Labels Collection Framelits from the 2012 Occasions Mini-Catalog which went live on January 3rd.

This will be a gift to my dear friend Jean - she has been very supportive lately and I want to let her know I appreciate it.  I will be filling it with all occasion cards that we can use at work for various events that need to be celebrated.

My plan is to also take care of Day 7 and get it posted by later today.

Day 5 - My Favorite So Far

Today's creative challenge was "What do you collect?  Work with a collection of objects you have in your home."  I asked my husband what was the first thing that came to his mind...to be honest he said cats, which is weird and not true:)  Then he said purses, well duh!  That was my first thought too.  I LOVE bags, purses, and totes.  Because of that, I recently signed up to sell Thirty-One Gifts - a company that sells very cool personalized bags and totes - it's like a match made in heaven - I love stamping and scrapping...which means I need bags and totes...and Thirty-One sells bags and totes!

To that end, I decided to do a two page layout of my favorite collection.  I used both Wild Wasabi and Tangerine Tango Stampin' Up! cardstock along with Antique brads in the center of the paper flowers.  The paper flowers were made with the Fancy Flower and 5-Petal Flower punches.

Day 4 - 361 to Go!

Ok, that's going to get old in a heart beat!  Today's challenge was to take a 5 minute walk, make something with what you find at your destination, and then leave it for someone.  Well...it's cold out and I hate the cold!  So, I used some leaves I picked up a couple years ago when Ed and I went camping together - I think we were on a walk when I found them:)  The photo doesn't show up too well - it's of two deer caught on Ed's trail cam up in Ashland.

Day 3 - 362 to Go!

I'll say it up front - I kind of cheated with today's challenge - "Make something out of paper, but don't use scissors or glue or draw on it."

I chose to use one of the Stampin' Up! Simply Sent kits - already cut, already pretty!  I just had to put a sticker on it (that's where I kind of cheated, since stickers technically have glue.)  And then I stamped a greeting on each one (another cheat if you think stamping means drawing!)  But I have been meaning to play with my Simply Sent kits and this gave me an excuse.  It took me less than 10 minutes to create the 7 cards shown below - not bad!  And perfect if you're just starting out with card making - easy AND beautiful - it's a win win!

Day 2 - 363 to Go

Just so you know, I'll only do the "days to go" a bit longer - math is hard and I don't want to have to figure out how many days there are left - the first few are going to be easy :)

The project for Day 2 was "What's your favorite animal?  Use it as your inspiration today"  This one was pretty easy for me - our cat "Bob" is, well, maybe not an inspiration, but he sure has "inspired" lots of photo opportunities!  So, I made a Squash Book.  I used Stampin' Up! black and Garden Green cardstock along with some cat themed paper I had.

Happy New Year! 1 Down, 364 to Go!

I'd be remiss if I didn't start this post out with Go Pack!!!  To be honest, I'm apprehensive about today's game against the Detroit Lions since Aaron Rodgers is not playing...

Moving on!  I bought a book at Archivers a few weeks ago call "365 - A Daily Creativity Journal"  It is written by Noah Scalin and it challenges you to do something creative every day.  I waited until January 1st to start this for obvious reasons.  I want to say up front, I'm not committing to do something creative every single day of 2012, but I'm going to do the best I can to create 365. 

The book gives suggestions for each day and Day 1 is "make something that fits in the palm of your hand using only materials in your immediate environment."  Now, I'm a stamper and scrapbooker, so this one was fairly easy and I've had my project planned for days.

Here are pictures of a Stampin' Up! Simply Adorned charm/necklace that I created this morning.  The background was done using the shaving cream technique, then I stamped with the Daring Adventure stamp set and finished it off with butterflies die cut using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die.

Day 1, mission accomplished!

And hour to browse Pinterest!

Have you heard of the website Pinterest?  It's basically a spot where you can "pin" photos, ideas, etc. that you find during your time blogging on the internet - it is very cool and VERY addictive - there are recipes, inspirational posters, cleaning and organizing ideas, craft ideas - it's endless!  If any of you are members, I'd love an official invite - if you ask for an invite directly from the site, it takes FOREVER!  I want to start pinning!

Anywho, I introduced my dear friend Kristen to the site a few days ago and now SHE'S addicted.  We made a deal that we had to earn time to browse Pinterest by creating and sharing something - 30 extra minutes - oh joy!  Well, I did it - I completed 2 swaps - one with products out of the brand new Sale-A-Bration mini-catalog, and one with products out of the new Occasions mini-catalog - both go live in January.  I'm pleased with how they turned out - and both are original ideas - very unusual for me since I normally stamplift from other talented people:)

Once More, With Feeling....

So, I started my blog about 18 months ago, but for various reasons (none of them good) I only updated it twice. When I tried to post to it last week, I got an error message. Kelly suggested I start all over from scratch, so...here we are!

The biggest change for me will be remembering to take pictures of my projects in order to post them. The pictures on this post are from our last unit meeting. I did a "wow" demonstration showing the brand new, awesome Simply Scored scoring tool. I used it to make an envelope and also a halloween treat box.

I make no commitments to how often I will post, but I am creating projects quite frequently and will do my best to post pictures to share - after all, that's what it's really all about, isn't it? Sharing!