Just a few more hours until...

the new catalog is officially revealed and I can post some wonderful images for you!

In the meantime- here's some blogthingy stuff for you- now not all of you will remember the 80's as well as I do but...

Your 80s Hunk Is

John Stamos

Who's Your 80s Hunk?

WeeMe

Okay, so while waiting to be able to reveal the new catalog and all of it's great surprises, I decided to bring back my AIM messenger using the new WeeMe option. So, here I am, feel free to visit me and let me know what you think? should I change my hair? or accessories?

Croppin at the Lake...

This site was posted on one of the Scrapbook meet-up groups I belong to. The price looks right for a full weekend including cropping tools, a lake view, all meals and more.

I am trying to see if there would be enough interest in having a stamping retreat here. Total cost would be about $300 ($250 for the location and $50 for some classes plus plenty of time to work on your own stuff).

I was thinking of late April 2008.

Email me if you are interested. No firm commitment needed, I just don't want to pursue it if no one would play.

Cropping on the Lake

It's HERE.....

New catalogs arrived today!!! I am so excited. I'm not allowed to tell you what is in it yet (not until June 30) but---you will be excited to know that there are lots of snowmen!!

The cover is in gorgeous shades of blue.

Lots of new designer papers, fabric flowers, new ribbons...

Are you excited yet? If you were a hostess last year, get in touch, I've got something for you....

Not Just Rumors Anymore

Well, demo's are beginning to receive their complimentary copy of their catalog and it looks like we will have some answers to our questions - What's in the New Idea book soon!

Some things that have been shared already!!

35 Punches!!! Yippee
A Crop-a-dile (?) can this be true- should know for sure soon
New Textured papers!!!
Lots of new stamp sets (including Tennis- now won't Amadeus be happy!)

More as I learn more....

Weekend Update

Not a lot of stamping going on here this weekend. Ama is in a tennis tournament and playing in the 14's (from now on). This will be a big step up for him but with the new coach he's been working with and all the playing time for Team Tennis, I think he will do okay.

The downside is the weather- at 90+ degree's it really becomes an issue of stamina and skill. It also wears me out!

If we get home early tomorrow, look for some new card ideas to be posted.

While you are waiting, you might want to check out the Card Candy from Laurie Ann Woo's blog- very cute and she has a good tutorial.

New Stamp Sets

Just a few more days and the new Fall collection will be here. I was in quite a bit of shock when I reviewed the retiring list.

It looks like almost all the grosgrain ribbon is being re-packaged, almost all of the designer paper and simply scrapping kits are going away and Pearl Ex powders (just when I figured out how to use them!).

What 2 items are you most disappointed to see leaving the list? What new items do YOU hope will be in the new catty?

Share your comments- when we get to 5 - I'll draw for a pack of soon to be discontinued DS paper!!

OSW Swap Update

I am hosting an OSW swap this month and I have received almost all of the pages back. I think you are really going to enjoy playing with these new possibilities for cards.

I should have everything swapped out and back to you by the end of the week.

Just to keep you on your toes, the Swap theme for July is Christmas in July. We will be making 5 full cards. You can use SU (current or retired) or Non-SU sets. Each card should have at least 2 layers and demonstrate one technique or cool embellishment.

Sign up by July 5
Swaps due to me by July 20
Swaps returned to you by July 30

Baroque Motifs (including a card recipe)

Oh, I think I have found my new favorite set and I haven't even had a chance to play with the stamps in the idea book. This is definitely not my "normal" stamping style set, but when I saw it in the preview brochure, I was excited by the possibilities. This card was made for the Designer Paper swap I'm in with VC_Rocks.

Everything used is by SU. I used some of the new 2 sides Baroque designer paper- the colors are so rich and would be great for masculine cards. I started with chocolate chip as a base, then I stamped the small medallion in Versamark and then used Gold Embossing powder to give it that raised effect. The central image was made by layering Very Vanilla on Chocolate Chip and back on Very Vanilla. I used the ticket punch to make the corners in the chocolate chip. The main image was stamped in Old Olive and I also used direct to paper to add the color to the image base. I left room in the corner to stamp a small message. I was thinking of the word "Cherish" from the set using the Gold Embossing Powder.

Copyright Stampin' Up 1999-2007

Back to Basics Swap Cards

A while back, I joined a swap called, "Back to Basics". This swap was for demonstrators only and the challenge was to make a card using only the sets and colors that come in the "non- customized" new demo kit. Since this was an SU demo challenge using kit items, everything you see is SU.

The new demo kit includes the following stamp sets and colors (not sure if this will stay the same with the new idea book coming out):

• Heartfelt Thanks
• Greetings Galore
• Loads of Love
• Itty Bitty Backgrounds
• Quick Thinking
• Much Appreciated

The colors we could use (for markers and paper) were:

• Basic Black
• YoYo Yellow
• Real Red
• Brilliant Blue
• Green Galore
• Pixie Pink
• Whisper White
  

The fun part of the swap was we made 5 cards but didn't get one of our cards back. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Heartfelt Thanks- using Pink, Black and White
Copyright Stampin' Up 1999-2007

Heartfelt Thanks, Whisper White
Copyright Stampin' Up 1999-2007

I decided to post some floral samples, since many of you like flowers but I haven't really learned how to use them yet. Hope you enjoy!

Pearl Ex and Floor Wax

Here's the first of another swap I participated in with VC_Rocks. The theme was to create a card using Pearl Ex powders and Future Floor Wax. Pearl Ex powders are finely ground bits of mica that can be used to give a sparkly finish to products. There are many different ways to use Pearl Ex. For this particular project, I used 4 different colors. Turquoise, Purple, Super Russet, and Interference Red. The Interference Red (or any of the interference colors) appear white in the jar but when brushed on a dark cs they change color.

The first thing I did was to create a palette on a paper plate. I placed a very small (pinch) of powder in 4 different spots.

Then I filled a very small container with some Future Floor wax (you can also fill an aqua painter with floor wax). I chose to use a fine tip paint brush.

I added small amounts of the floor wax (transferring with the brush) to create a puddle of color on my palette.

Then I painted this mixture in to my stamped images. I found that using open images worked better - for my first try it was easier than trying to fill in fine spaces.

I let the images dry for about 20 minutes and then "sanded" them with a swiffer dry cloth- this removed some of the extra powder.

The final stamped image looked like this.

Images Copyright Stampin' Up 1999 -2007

All products are Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted. I used the new Pick a Petal set, stamped on WW, then mounted on black, I then used my white signa gel pen to created the dotted lines around each petal. For the final card, I layered on top of brilliant blue, punched a hole at the bottom of the card with the word window punch and finished it off with some gold cord .

Recipe Swap Page

All images Copyright Stampin' Up 1999-2007

I'm back!! I've been busy stamping, swapping and of course watching Ama at the tennis courts. I finally got my act together and have actually been taking pictures of my creations so hopefully, you will find this a little more fun and interesting.

Anyway, one of the swaps I just completed for VC Rocks was a 6x6 recipe page. I love crab dip and this is a favorite, quick crockpot recipe. I included the recipe for you, too.

Let me know what you think of this creation. All products are Stampin' Up unless other noted. I used Close to Cocoa for the background and the Crab set from the spring mini. I rolled the coordinating wheel to form the bottom piece and also the background behind the recipe. Then I sponged creamy caramel all over the white. My crab was stamped with versamark and then embossed using the detail black embossing powder. I then used my aquapainter and bold bright water color crayons to color the crab in.

Recipe for Crockpot Hot Crab Dip
I originally found this at Joyce's Fine Cooking site

Makes 5 cups

1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 cup salsa
3 pkgs (8 oz. each) light cream cheese cubed
2 pkgs (8 oz. each) imitation crabmeat, flaked
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 can (4 oz.) green chiles (optional)

Combine milk and salsa. Transfer to crockpot coated with non stick cooking spray. Stir in cream cheese, crab, onions, and chiles. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

Fun and Games

Just a quick note today- life has been incredibly hectic, I'm looking forward to getting a chance to sit down and upload some new cards soon! In the meantime,

• Pages are starting to roll in for the OSW swap - they are looking great! Can't wait to see the rest of your pages
• I just got my preview order last night. I was able to get the sets mounted and can't wait to do some stamping soon. I'll be posting pictures
  
• I've almost finished my swaps for VC_Rocks, of course, I forgot to take pictures of some of those but the ones I have will be posted this weekend.
  
• Stamp camp was a blast on Monday night. We stamped on just about everything imaginable including window sheets, glass candle holders, canvas totes and of course, paper

What have you stamped lately?

Countdown to Father's Day

Great resource for you and some cool images to download for free as you countdown to Father's Day.

You can find these on Lisa Vollrath's site.

Here's the link: http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Ever Been to Hawaii?

Wow, the SU world is buzzing, not only is there a new Idea Book on the way (which, if the preview brochure is any indication) is going to be one of the best yet. The incentive trip for demonstrators is an all expense paid trip to Hawaii. Demo's and their guest will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for 5 days in March 2009. Now, cruises are fun, but they never really got me excited. This trip however wow!! Let me know if you would like to learn how you can become a demo and earn the trip or how you can host a workshop and help me earn the trip!! I promise to bring back goodies for everyone who helps me!!

Just a few pictures to get you excited!

Something Fun- Are you More Dog or Cat?

You Are: 20% Dog, 80% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat. You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way. And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Great Blog to Share with you

I'm participating in the Nashville Scrappers meet up online crop this weekend. One of the cool things we've been challenged to do is create this cool flower shaped album. I'm including a link to the blog of the designer Wendy.

http://www.doodlelicious.com/

Check out some of the cool stuff- this album is found in the templates section.

Looking for Ideas

I'm trying to come up with ideas for a shaped card. I don't want to do something boring so I'm playing around with everyday things like crabs, martini glasses, or cats. What are your favorite shapes and what kind of shaped card would you like to receive?

June Swap

Last call to sign up for the June Swap. We'll be making a OWS (one sheet wonder). What you need to do is stamp multiple random images across on a sheet of 8.5" x 11" - this works best when you use 2-3 different stamps and a one or two coordinating colors. Your cardstock can be any color (white not necessary).

Sign up by June 10
I'll contact you with the total number of sheets needed by June 11 (right now we are up to 8 players)
Get your OSW's to me no later than June 20- I'll get these swapped back to you by June 25 and include a template on how to make up to 10 cards using the sheet.

Email a picture of one or your creations to be posted on the blog!

The cool thing about this- with 10 players you will have the ability to make up to 100 cards! How fun.