Convention Buddy Gifts

It is a bit of a tradition to take your Convention buddies a little something to commemorate the event. Every demonstrator loves an excuse to stamp. And look what my buddies came up with this year.

How cute is this? Anita Konvicka made each of us one of these cute Post-It Notes tags. Every one was a different color. She even matched the little notes to our colors! Love it. It's going in my purse! Thank you, Anita!

Isn't this clever? This is a sampler of all our beautiful card stock, made by Kirsteen Gill. I was just tickled to receive it. A lot of work went into this.

Kirsteen labeled each piece of card stock for easy reference. This is going to come in so handy at my camps! Thanks, Kirsteen!

These little goodies were from Penny. You always need a little bit of chocolate in the afternoon to keep you going. That's what's peeking out from the little herringbone dp package. Thanks, Penny.

Every demonstrator receives a convention bag. They all look alike, so I made these little monogram charms for the ladies in our group to attach to their bags so we can tell them apart. Every demonstrator likes a little 'bling'!

Stampin' Up! Convention 2010!

The theme for the Stampin' Up! Convention 2010!

This is our view from the Marriott where we stayed. The Salt Palace, where the Convention was held, is on the left. It's huge! See the Rockies in the distance? So beautiful.

This is the General Assembly just before the start of every day. The oldies but goodies music is loud. Everyone is dancing. The beach balls are flying. Friends who have not seen each other since last year are hugging. And there is SWAPPING! Does it get any better than this? Just wait!

This is part where I brag, just a bit. It is always exciting to attend Convention, but especially so for me because my sister, Penny, received the title Demonstrator of the Year! She was #19 out of all the demonstrators in America! And deservedly so! I'm so proud of you Penny!

The Sweet Shop!

In the Gathering Place, there are rows and rows of sample cards, of which you can take pictures. I don't even know how many pictures I took. If you attend my Stamp Camps, you just might be making one soon!
What really caught my eye this time, was the display called The Sweet Shop. It was made to look like a candy store. Not one thing was edible. It was all done with paper and embellishments. Unbelievable!

Memento Mall! This is where all the Convention merchandise is found. All kinds of wonderful things to buy, such as charms, bags, apparel, laptop bags in our beautiful Greenhouse Gala prints. On and on! I might have visited this wonderland three times, but I'm not saying for sure.

SHELLI!

The best part of Convention? Friends and Freebies! That's Penny on the far left, then Jackie, Kate, Anita, and that's Kirsteen's hair on the right. (Sorry I didn't get you, Kirsteen. Photography is not one of my strong points!) And Danielle is sitting behind us. Every single demonstrator in the convention hall received a package of the new Christmas Designer Paper called Deck The Halls, Glass Glitter, Cherry Cobbler ink pad, and the stamp set Peaceful Season! You can just imagine how the room erupted into shear joy!

We had such a good time. I cannot wait until next year. Thank you Stampin' Up! for being so good to us. Thank you demonstrator friends for making this such a fun, meaningful experience!

Cased Myself And Love it!

I'm in love with the new colors, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz! And how could you not love this Designer Paper called Greenhouse Gala? I even love the different fonts together on the sentiment stamp from the Occasional Quotes. And don't get me started on the ribbon. Did I say already that I love it?

The New Stampin' Up! Catalog is HERE!

I am just loving the new, bright, fresh colors and designer papers in the new Stampin' Up! catalog. If you don't have one yet, let me know, and I will get one to you!

Hang In There, Kermit!

I apologize for the grainy quality of this photo. But if you look closely, you will see a little tree (?) frog peeking in on my glass back door. I don't know how he was able to hang on, but he reminded me of the saying 'Hang in there.' He was so tiny and cute. I was just mesmerized by how he was able to stay on the glass. He was probably wondering how I could exist on the other side. Kinda looks a bit like.....Kermit.

Happy Fourth of July!

The stars are made from chipboard, inked up with Really Red, Whisper White and Night of Navy. Since the card says Sparkle, I had to add some Dazzling Diamonds!

Thanks to all who have served, or are serving in the military. Because of you, I can enjoy my freedom and make silly little cards all day. I do not take the sacrifices you've made for granted. I appreciate you and hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July too.

Bless you and thank you!

June (Happy Birthday Penny!) Stamp Camp Samples

Love this Designer Paper - Island Oasis - it's so bright. The Bitty Shapers punches and Bitty Buttons were added to the top. Gretchen Barron's inspiration.

My style tends to be whimsical, but I love a classy card too. The stamp set, Watercolor Trio, is so elegant when used with the Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry ink. Linda Grames inspired this card.

Saw this layout on Karen Graff-Povis' blog and thought the new July Fourth stamp set would work great with it. Reminds me of watching fireworks!

I love a new technique! This card is made by stamping with bleach on the outside panels! It's a really cool effect if you can handle the bleach fumes! Next time I'll get the scentless bleach. Whew! The middle image is stamped with Soft Suede and Sahara Sand, then punched with the Curly Label punch, and popped up with dimensionals. A tiny little clip is added at the top. Taunya Thurman Rivers.

Pink and orange are so dramatic together. Since Only Orange and Green Galore are retiring, I thought this happy little card would be a great fond farewell. Andrea Walford.

My motto is "Less Is More". How much cuter could you get than this card? It is so simple, but so perfect. Less is more! Used Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, and Regal Rose ink and card stock. Sweetness.

Guest Stamper - Phyllis Phegley

My good friend, Phyllis Phegley, is an awesome stamper. Recently, she needed a special birthday card for her son, who likes to fish, and found this 'fisherman's vest' card on Splitcoast Stampers. She immediately set to work on recreating it. I am just blown away at how adorable it came out. Those are real lures, which her husband, Dave, removed the hooks for her to attach on the front. In the second photo, you can see the little card that comes out with a hemp pull. On the back of that, she made a pocket for a gift card or check or money.

She has given me her recipe for this, and if you would like to have it, let me know, and I will email it to you.

Thank you, Phyllis! This card is just as cute as it can be!

Flower For All Seasons Note Card Holder

I recently attended my family reunion in Texas. It was so nice to see everyone. The kids are growing like weeds, and really fun to be around. My parents (ages 80 and 85!) were able to attend too, and we enjoyed having them with us.

I wanted to bring something special to the McClung ladies, and found these note cards and holder on the Studio 52 blog. Too cute! It uses the Flower For All Seasons stamp set, and was perfect for showing them how much I love them. Hopefully, when they use the note cards, it will remind them of our 2010 McClung Family reunion!

'Sweet' Firecrackers

Who knew Lifesavers could be explosive? I saw these little cuties on the demonstrator sharing website. They are made using the Red, White & Blue Jumbo Wheel on Kraft card stock, with Night of Navy underneath, all wrapped around a roll of Lifesavers! The 'explosion' is made by fraying a 1/2" Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon. The 'fuse' is Hemp Twine.
This is a 'sweet' and safe way to enjoy firecrackers!

Summer Means....Lemonade...Yeah, That's It...Lemonade!

I just love this card. You have probably seen it before, but because it is so flippin' cute, I am posting it again. It's made using the Card Stock Vellum, and takes a bit of maneuvering to place it just right, but the results are worth it. The lemon and strawberry are from the Tart & Tangy stamp set. You can just see them peeking out of the glass that has been sponged with Summer Sun. The salt, I mean sugar, at the top of the glass is made with Sticky Strip and Chunky Glitter. Doesn't it make you want to go make yourself a margar....lemonade?

Summer Means Flip-Flops!

I am a big fan of the Flip-flop! If it didn't get so darn cold here in the winter, I would wear them all year long. So these two samples really appealed to me.

The top one is a card I copied from Splitcoast last year. It is so bright and cheery using the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper. The 'flops' were traced from a template and then outlined with a Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen to give it punch. The polka-dotted Bermuda Bay grosgrain ribbon was used for the straps. The little flower accents were made with the Trio Flower punch. Love it, love it, love it!

The next example is using the Big Shot (you really need this little gizmo!). With the Daisies #2 Die and Fun Foam, you can take a boring pair of cheap flops and jazz them up! I used the Build-a-Brad in the center to give it a little color. What a cute little summer gift.

May Stamp Camp

I really need to get some better lighting in my stamping room. This card is made with Pretty in Pink satin ribbon and card stock, along with Tea Party Designer paper. I used the new stamp set, Sweet Scoops, and heat-embossed my vanilla ice cream scoop. Cutting it out was a bit tricky, being white on white, but worth the effort. Looks good enough to eat. The cherry was finished off with Crystal Effects. Both the scallop corner and border punches were used to make it just a bit frilly.

Graduation time! The stamp set called Starring You is so versatile for this kind of celebration. The base card is Sahara Sand and the punched stars are Crushed Curry. There is some Soft Suede peeking out too. Stole it from Nancy Riley.

One of my favorite In Colors is Crushed Curry. It looks so pretty and bright when matched with Dusty Durango. (Doesn't that name sound like an old cowboy movie star?) Notice the scalloped circle looks just like the sunflowers? To get that effect, after you punch your scalloped circle, place it either on a post-it note or Dotto on paper, slip it back into the scallop punch. Line it up, then slightly turn so that the points are on the scallop. Then punch! Voila, a sunflower! Found this on the Demonstrator's website by Paula Fats Cannon.

I get bored with standard size cards and thought this one would be fun to make. It uses the Wellness Wishes bandaid stamp popped up with Dimensionals and a small, punched heart popped on top of that. The original was a square and made by Crystal Lenssen. So cute.

I got the idea of a magnetic memo board from my stampin' friend in Texas, Diane Burns. She made one for me and I knew I wanted to demonstrate them at a camp. My version uses a 5 x 7 sheet of galvanized 'step flashing' (don't ask me!) from True Value Hardware. (I truly believe I bought all there was in North St. Louis County!) We used the Sweet Pea Designer Papers and felts. (Gonna miss those!) I love the results. Used the Crop-o-dile Corner Chomper to round the edges and Crop-o-dile hole puncher for the Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon. Now, I need some memos!

Happy Birthday, Bunny!

May 28Th is my youngest daughter's 26Th birthday! She is so far away and it's hard not to be with her to help her celebrate her special day. So a very special card was in order. I don't ordinarily like busy cards, but this one had Kim's name all over it. It's bright, it's fun, it's happy and colorful and that is everything she is. It comes from Mary Fish's blog: http://stampinpretty.com.
Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Bunny. We love and miss you very much.

Short and Sweet

Sometimes, just a little note is all you need. I love making 3" x 3" note cards. Here are a couple that really caught my eye.
This little bird was originally done in blue, but hey, I come from Cardinal Nation, so of course I am going to make him red! He is made using the 1 3/4" circle punch and the Scallop punch, then popped up and sitting on the branches made from the bird punch. He is a very well-fed budgie! (I saw him on the demonstrator's sharing website and have misplaced the artist's name. When I find it I will certainly give her credit.)

This little cutie was designed by Jacqueline Nimrichter (blog: scrapsoflife). The little flower is simply made by punching several circles and crumbling them together, then held in the center by a designer brad.

While The Cat's Away, The Mice Will Stamp!

While Steve was away camping and 'fishing' with his buddies, I was stamping my little heart out with my buddies! I CASED these cards of some very talented, awesome demonstrators from the Stampin' Connection, a website for demonstrators.

Love those camping weekends!

Beautiful Blogger Award!

Getting awards is always fun, but when they are given to you by someone you respect and admire, that is even better. My sweet friend, Robin Owen, in California (another misplaced Texan!), is responsible for this. Her blog (http://inkbug.blogspot.com) is so fun to check out. She has the cutest personality and her stamping talent is awesome. Thank you for this honor, Robin!
By receiving this award, I have to tell you 10 things you may not know about me....Hmmm, here goes:
1. I am a reality TV fan -- there -- I said it! But I don't get to see it much. I am not the designated remote holder. So I see a lot of cable news TV.
2. When I was little, I wanted a horse. Dad always told me he would get me one as soon as we moved to a place big enough to keep it. I am guilty of using that psychology myself. Pretty much brilliant on my dad's part.
3. I would love a house on the beach. Yeah, I know, dream on, here in land-locked mid-west.
4. For my birthday, every year, my mom used to make her peach cobbler instead of cake. It is to die for! No one can make it like she does. Put some Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top. Yum! You will never miss the cake.
5. I will NOT eat sushi. Uh-uh, no way.
6. I had a panic attack while watching the Exorcist when it first came out in the movie theater. (About a million years ago) To this day, I cannot watch scary movies with devil themes.
7. I must have a book waiting for me as I read another.
8. I pushed my daughter, Kim, to work at Fritz's Frozen Custard, when she was in high school, so we could get the mistakes and leftover frozen custard. I'm not exactly proud of that, but it only lasted a couple of months anyway. Kim just wasn't into the whole smelling like milk thing.
9. I don't like showers, I like to soak in the hot tub - forever. Also, I hate pajamas, love short gowns. TMI?
10. I want to go to Hawaii with Steve. (Maybe buy a house on the beach?)

I will pass this award on to Deb at http://artfeltimpressions.blogspot.com. Her cards are so clean and fresh. I love her style.