How cute is this little guy???  A simple, inexpensive way to make your Halloween treats a bit more frighteningly delicious.  Click here to find out more.

I totally love challenges and I especially love the idea behind this challenge….I came across it on SplitcoastStampers.com

Its a challenge specifically for SU demos, which makes me love it even more since I have been and continue to be a loyal Stampin’ Up stamper. I know there are other stamping companies out there with lovely products and very talented artists, but I am a Stampin’ Up girl at heart…through and through!

So, the WICKED acronym stands for Wonderfully Inspiring Challenges Keep Educating Demos!…cool, huh???

It incorporates card sketches, color combos and techniques. You can participate in all or one of the challenges…it’s tons of fun and gets you thinking out of the box. You can read more in the Demo Forum (Please note: you have to be an SU Demo to access this forum, but I think you can view the gallery even if you are not a demo)

My entry for this week includes….The technique, which was moonlighting( watch for a tutorial coming soon on my Techniques page), the color combo: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron and Perfect Plum (I was all out of Perfect Plum, so I substituted Lavendar Lace), and the sketch

which I turned to have a vertical orientation. Hope you like it and are inspired to challenge yourself and your creativity!

Happy Stampin’

Saturday was my husband’s birthday…..41!!!  Whewww…now some may think that’s over the hill or at least past the turning point and on the way down..LOL….but not my husband, the eternal optimist.  Forty-One is actually his favorite number.  It was always his number whenever he played any kind of sport; softball, basketball, flag football…you name it.  Only he could find a reason for “41″ to be a special year in his life.  Nevertheless, his postive spirit and optimistic outlook has provided me with a much needed balance in my life.  See, I would’t necessarily call myself a pessimist, so much as a worrier.  I worry enough for my whole family and then some.  He has an uncanny way of putting my fears to rest and reassuring me that everything really works out for the best.  Now you may be picturing my DH as a overly cheery, Mister Rogers type…not true (not that that’s such a bad thing).  He’s actually just a simple man who looks at life from a realistic point of view…In fact his favorite saying is, “It is what it is,” which I guess is pretty true when it all comes down to it.  We can’t fret over things we have no control over, nor should we play the “woulda, shoulda, coulda” game when things don’t work out exactly as we wanted or planned.  Life is really too short and we should enjoy every moment regardless of whether or not they meet our expectations.  I could rant on and on about my philosophies on life and his, but I’ll save that for another post.

So back to “My Guy’s” birthday….the funny part about that is that my DH’s name is actually “Guy”!  Being such a simple, laid back guy (no pun intended), when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he just wanted a homemade birthday cake and to stay at home with his girls (Me, Abby and Ava)  Now Ava’s a bit young, but Abby and I did our best to make a special cake for “Daddy.”  I regret now that I didn’t take a picture…I know, I know I committed a mortal sin for all bloggers and scrapbookers…but we were lucky we managed to get the cake done and have it be edible.  It was a strawberry cake we made from scratch…yes, I said scratch….and while it didn’t look very pretty it was really yummy.  I’ll post the recipe later in case anyone is interested.

So I guess the morale of this post is:

1. Live life to the fullest
2. Cherish Every Moment
3. All of your cards should be handmade….and…..
4. When all else fails….EAT CAKE!

Seriously…Happy Birthday Guy….May this be your best year ever…I love you!

Happy Stampin’ Everyone!

P.S.  The card was created using the Crazy for Cupcakes Stamp Set.  The DSP is from the retired Simply Scrappin’ Kit, Summer Days.

It felt like Christmas morning when I opened my new stamp sets from the Fall/Winter 08 collection.  I tore into them, popped out the die cut rubber images and mounted them on their respective wood blocks like a toddler tearing into a new toy from Santa.

Here are a few cards I created with the stamp set, Upsy Daisy and the new Urban Garden DSP.  I paired the DSP with the coordinating colors (which I so easily found in the new catalog…don’t you just love that!)  The base is Kiwi Kiss and the main image is stamped on Brocade Blue with Night of Navy ink.  I did add some glitter to the tips of the flowers on the one card just to see how it would look.

Please note:  The “With Sympathy” stamp is from the retired set, Warmest Regards.

Hope you like them

Happy Stampin’

I’ve been quite busy the last several days reorganizing the ENTIRE house including my favorite room….my stamp room.  Now, previously my stamp room shared its home with our guest room.  All of my stuff was shoved into the corner with minimal organization and lots and lots of stacked bins!!!   Since our basement has yet to be finished and may not be any time soon, we needed an alternative plan.  So it was time to put my creative juices to work in solving our space issue.  Now the guest/stamp room, which my daughter, Abigail has lovingly named the “Scrapbook Room” seemed like it wasn’t being used as efficiently as it could be.  And, since we don’t usually have guests spending the night, we decided to move Ava into the guest room and convert the Nursery into my stamping space.  Now it was a huge undertaking, especially with two little ones underfoot, but I love, love, love my new space. Sooooooooooooooooooooo…drum roll please……………………………….

My Stamp Room:

And, here is the closet :

Now, I’d still like to paint, hang some pictures and/or shelves and of course add some DECOR ELEMENTS!!!  Oh, and I also had to incorporate some space for Abigail because she loves to stamp alongside me…..she cracks me up how much she loves to anything that involves stamping and scrapbooking.

Here is Abigail’s Stampin’ Nook:

Well,probably the best part of this whole transition is that I didn’t spend a single dime!!!!  Yep, you heard right….I used everything I already had on hand in the old “Scrapbook Room” and hunted through my basement for shelves, baskets and bins to use.  If you don’t know me personally, this is a huge deal for me because I am terrified of spiders and the items in the basement were infested with them.  It’s amazing the lengths I’ll go to for my stamps!!  So now that I’m all set up, there’s nothing left to do but STAMP!!!  I can’t wait to play with my new stuff in my new space.

Happy Stampin’

Okay, I admit it. When I heard about the Decor Elements line of vinyl clings, I thought “yeah right.” I immediately thought of those holiday clear “clingy things” you get at the Dollar Store. Well, let me tell you these are a far cry from Dollar Store “clingy things.” I saw them in action at convention and am TOTALLY sold! They are beauuuuutiful!!!!! Not only do they look classy and professional, they are super easy to use and incredibly versatile. I can’t believe I dismissed these products so quickly…boy was I wrong. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the second phase of products. I am totally using the large flowers to decorate my daughter’s room. You are going to flip when you see the new colors and designs. They will all be available for customers to purchase on October 1st.

Here are some pictures of the sample rooms they had decorated and on display at convention. Many of the projects also incorporate the new BIG SHOT Sizzix machine, also available for purchase on October 1st. Demonstrators, of course, have the exclusive priviledge of pre-ordering this fabulous machine. And thanks to my wonderful mother, I am getting one as my birthday present (Aug. 31st for those who want to send me cards…LOL)…THANKS MOM!!!!!!!!

Room #1:

Here you can see Shelli’s “elves” setting up this spectacular display. Notice the beautiful stencil on the right, it is made from the Tulipe die cut available with the new Sizzix machine. No lie, in less than 1 hour they stenciled and decorated this entire display. I especially love the old shutter they repainted in a regal rose hue, stamped with the Baroque Motif stamp and then displayed all of the SU mini catalogs. This would also be a fabulous idea for displaying holiday cards. You better believe I’m going to be hitting the antique markets searching for one of these myself!

Room # 2:

How about this for a home office…

…if this set up doesn’t inspire creativity and elicit a positive energy, I don’t know what will. This simple yet, classic design is equally as simple to achieve. Notice the file folders featuring the new Maine Blueberry DSP. My favorite element in this room, if I have to choose just one, is the “clothes line” display of photographs.

Room # 3:

I’m not sure exactly what type of room you’d call this, but I’m thinking this would be a perfect mud room. Although with that said, I don’t know if you can call a room this adorable a “mud room.” It just seems like an oxymoron to me. Nevertheless, the colors represented here match the Haiku DSP. Don’t you just love, love, love that shade of orange. Actually to be technical, it’s called Tangerine Tango and it’s one of the new “In Colors” featured in the Fall/Winter 2008 Catalog.

Room #4: The “Family Room”

Warm, cozy and classic….I’d love to curl up in this chair with a good book, or better yet, the new Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog. The photographs shown are actually of Shelli and her family. In fact I think I heard someone say that all of the items in the display room actually came from Shelli’s home. (Notice I said “home” and not “house,” as these are all clearly representative of what makes a house a home. The photos and furniture shown in each of these four rooms are made more personal by the gentle touches that the Decor Elements provide. And probably best of all, many of these touches are inexpensive and readily available. Notice how the “family” frame is nothing more than a old hinged window or door frame. Shabby Chic that’s not too “shabby” if you ask me.

Happy Decoratin’ ( I couldn’t say stampin’, right??)

Well, I am back from convention and trying to readjust to “normal” life, whatever that is. I haven’t been blogging these past few days so I could spend some time playing with my girls. I missed them so much while I was away. As I readjust to east coast time and sort through all of my wonderful swaps, I want to take a minute to share with you a very exciting convention moment for me.

On the first official day of convention, I went back to the display boards where Stampin’ Up! displays the work of many talented demonstrators. These samples are sent into the home office as contest entries, creative challenges and more. Well, as I walked past the display boards taking in all of the beautiful creations, I was completely caught off-guard when from the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a picture of my oldest daughter, Abigail. I froze in my tracks, spun around and right there on one of the display shelves was a flip book I made out of a retired Scrappin’ Memories Kit. I couldn’t believe it, there was my creation on display for thousands of people to see. At the risk of patting myself on the back, it was a shining moment for me and I felt such pride that my work had been chosen for the display. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I wandered around some more and proceeded to find three more samples that I submitted on the display boards as well.

Here are some pics of my work on display!

p.s. Lately I have been fooling around with the banner on my blog, so please be patient and don’t be surprised if it changes over the next few days. The URL will remain the same as will the content, I am just looking for ways to customize it and have it represent my style a little more. Any feedback is appreciated as I endure this process.

Happy Stampin’

No offense Amy…you are still our “hometown” celebrity

Celeb Spotting # 2 is the one and only Shelli Gardner. We waited in line to catch a glimpse of the women who makes all of this possible. I have to admit I was a little “star-struck” when I met her, but she is so sweet and down to earth. It was like talking to an old friend. It was quite exciting to chat briefly with her and have her sign my catalog. And of course we had to take advantage of the photo opportunity. Thanks to her son -in – law and husband, Sterling…we got some pretty good shots.

Celebrity Chat

Shelli signs my new catalog!

Shelli and me

Amy, me, Shelli and Amber

What an awesome day! Not only did I meet and chat with Shelli, but I we wrapped up the last General Session with an amazing surpise….every single demonstrator received a FREE stamp set, the Ronald McDonald Charity set from the new catalog. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this very generous gift was made possible by UPS our one and only shipping partner. You can’t imagine the response from the 5600 demonstrators and guests in the audience. It was incredible. What a fabulous way to wrap up a remarkable convention.

Well I have to get to bed so I can catch an early flight back east in the morning. I have so enjoyed writing about my convention adventures and still have more to show you when I get home. Stay tuned for pictures and project ideas as well as special promotional information as we unveil the new catalog and new product opportunities in the coming days and weeks.

Happy Stampin’ and Sweet Dreams!

Yes…can you believe it!  You’ll never guess who was in hot demand for autographs today….Our one and only fearless leader, Amy Celona!!!!!  Did you know she’s an international superstar????

Here she is with a fellow Canandian Demonstrator who just had to have her autograph:

What a riot this was….Amber and I thought this was such a hoot!!!