Yep.....ANOTHER BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

If you recall, I told you a week or so ago that I would have yet another big announcement.

Well, it's been hard to keep it to myself for so long, but the news is that Amy Westerman of Heartfelt Greetings has joined "The Dream Team".

I have long been a fan of Amy's work. She does such fabulous things with color and design (as evidenced by this gorgeous card). She is super talented, and well known and respected in the stamping community. Besides all that, she's a real sweetheart!



Am I one lucky girl, or what? Don't I have the best design team on the planet?

Please join me in giving Amy a real Stamper's Dream welcome! And be sure to check out her blog this morning. She will be posting her first card using stamps from Stamper's Dream .

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Thoughts of you...

When I saw these stamps in the Inkadinkado catalog, I KNEW I had to have them. I have long been a lover of beautiful stationary, and these stamps lend themselves so well to beautiful handmade stationary that anyone is sure to love. In my humble opinion, there IS no greater gift.

The stamp used for the card is called Flight of Fancy . I stamped it on white cardstock, colored with Prisma Color Pencils, then cut it out and adhered to the green circle. It has been AGES since I've used my Prisma pencils, and I really don't know why!

The sentiment, also from Inkadinkado, is called Thoughts of You .

After stamping and embossing the sentiment, I colored in the spaces with coordinating colors using my Prisma pencils to match the Butterfly image.

The matching envelope was stamped with Inkadinkado's Spring Is Sprung along the outer edges. The address portion is a stamp called Garden Frame . I just love how coordinated all the images look on the card, as well as the envelope.

So...that's it for me tonight. I've had a pretty tough week at the office, so I hope to call it a day a bit early tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

RAK from a friend

This card is a RAK I received in the mail a couple of days ago from my friend Lynda Benden .

It was just so cute that I wanted to show it off, and to say THANK YOU to Lynda for the adorable card and the sweet note inside. It was so very thoughtful...and I am so appreciative.

I know this is short and sweet, but I'm home on my lunch hour. I've got to get a couple of packages wrapped for mailing then rush out the door to get back to work.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Dahlia

When I don't feel rushed to make a card, I always seem to reach for my Northwoods Rubber Stamps. This stamp is called Sketch Dahlia . And I have to tell you, it was really easy to color.

I stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. Actually, I almost always emboss my stamped images. I like the crisp defined lines, particularly when watercoloring.

The stamped image was colored using Tombow markers and a blender pen. To make the light blue background around the flowers I used my Tombow markers and a damp paintbrush.

The edges of the panel were lightly distressed with Ranger Antique Linen and Vintage Photo ink using an Ink Sweeper . I really love how evenly I can apply the ink with the Ink Sweeper.

The designer paper is from Bo Bunny Press. I think everything else is self explanatory.

I hope you all remembered our troops as you enjoyed your Memorial Day. As the mother of a former Marine who served his country proudly, I can't tell you how meaningful it is to each and every one of them. Semper Fi!

Thanks for stopping by.

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge

As hard as it is to imagine, this is my first ever cupcake card! Yep, it's true! I didn't have any cupcake stamps. I know, I know...I have A LOT of cupcake stamps in the store. I just didn't have any in my personal collection until now.

When I was trying to find a little inspiration for something to stamp today I remembered how much I always enjoy Taylor's Cupcake Challenge , so I decided to play along.

The stamp used to hold the cupcake is JudiKins At Your Service . And what better to put on the tray than a cupcake? LOL!



The cupcake stamp is from Hero Arts Cupcakes Clear Design stamp set. I stamped the cupcake twice and cut it out. For the second cupcake I cut out just the icing and flower. I used White Opal Liquid Pearls for my icing, and sprinkled a little glitter over it while it was still wet. The icing is adhered to the cupcake using Scotch Mounting Tape to give it some dimension.

I stamped the flower portion of the cupcake stamps four more times, cutting out each of them. One went on top of the cake, and three are down the left side of the card. For the center of each of the flowers I used a Robin's Nest Dew Drop adhered with a Mini Glue Dot .

The designer paper is from Heidi Grace.

Thanks Taylor...great challenge!

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday weekend.

Beeeee Happy!

Do you think this card is bright enough? LOL!

The main image is Stampendous Watermelon Bee . I stamped it on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The image is colored using Tombow markers.



The sentiment, also from Stampendous, is called Bee Message .

After stamping it on white cardstock I cut it out using my Double Ended Tags by Spellbinders. I put an eyelet in each end and used some ribbon from my stash.

So....beeeee happy today, and have a fabulous Friday.

Thanks for stopping by.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

I've been dying to tell all of you this for some time now, but I had to wait. That was the hard part.

My big announcement is that Charmaine (CharmWarm) of Oodabug Alley has joined our "Dream Team".

I tell you, I couldn't be more excited. Not only is she one of the sweetest ladies around, but her work is SUPER FABULOUS, too. I have long admired her work. She also designs for Paper Pretties and Verve Visual.

So go to her blog and check out her first Stamper's Dream creation! You're going to love it!

I will have another big announcement soon.....so stay tuned!

My turtle...and a beach-n card!

I took a day of vacation today to get caught up on some things with the store and around the house. I decided to call Laurie sometime around mid morning to talk to her about a couple of things. While we were on the phone I walked out the back door onto the patio and saw this turtle in my swimming pool! We continued talking for quite some time. I was just certain that when I got off the phone the sucker would have somehow gotten out of there. Nope....he/she COULD NOT get out! Be sure to click on the photo to see a close up. Is that thing big, hairy and ugly? Or am I still just freaked out???

About 3 hours later, I could no longer stand it! I really wanted to call someone to come get it out for me. But on the other hand, I didn't want my male friends to think I'm a wimp. Any one of the guys from my office would have come right over, and I know that. I just didn't want to give them the satisfaction. (Sometimes being single and independent just sucks!) So.....I finally mustered all my courage and used the net to fish the darned thing out of there. It never occurred to me that it would have such sharp claws. You can see the pool net that his claws completely shredded. Guess I will go buy a new one this weekend, huh?

The turtle was probably as frightened as I was. I slung him out of the pool into the back yard. I'm not lookin' for him, and he's probably not looking for me either. LOL!
Onto the card....the real reason you stopped by anyway...right?

This card was made by my friend (and stamp rep) Debbie Gunion. She represents quite a few companies I buy from, and we've been friends for many years now. I LOVE it when she makes card samples and sends them to me!

All stamps are from Stampendous, and are in the store. The palm trees stamp is Summer Palms , and the sun is Sun Dots . The chair is called Little Lounge .

Of course, I know you all recognize the Changito Pool Guy . Isn't he adorable? And the sentiment is Beach-N-Birthday .
The latter part of my day was adding new inventory to the store. The UPS guy was good to me today. :-) I've restocked all the Basic Grey paper pads, and added their incredible Precision File Set .

Also new...stamps AND paper from Inque Boutique . I am really excited about their fabulous new 6 x 6 paper pads!

I also have new 8 x 8 paper pads from Cosmo Cricket .

There is much, much more....and lots of other things on the way. But this post has been much too long, and it's my dinner time. LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I do so appreciate each and every one of you!

Enjoy!

I took the time to play in the Featured Stamper's Challenge today on Splitcoast. It was a gallery that I hadn't been to before, and I loved cruising through it to see all her fabulous cards! The Featured Stamper today is Dawnsing . Be sure to check out her gallery.

The card I chose to CASE can be seen HERE . I changed the colors, paper and stamps, but kept her layout.

All stamps used on this card are from the Hero Arts Trees, Birds and Messages clear stamp set.

I stamped the bird and branch on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The branch was colored using Tombow (water based) markers and a blender pen. To color the bird I used Tombow markers and a damp paint brush to get a lighter and softer look. I was attempting to match the color of the bird to my ribbon. I guess I got close enough.

The designer paper is from the Memory Box Sugar collection, and the 1"satin ribbon is from May Arts. I added 3 Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest for more texture and interest.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Heart Sing

I just got these new Rubber Soul stamps in a day or so ago. I couldn't wait to use this set so I grabbed it first!

All stamps are from the Rubber Soul clear stamp set called Heart Sing .

I stamped the sentiment on a piece of cream cardstock using VersaMagic inks, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The branch and leaves were stamped on cream cardstock then cut out and adhered to the designer paper, as was the bird. I sponged around the edges of the bird with darker shade of ink to add a little depth before adhering it to the card with Scotch Mounting Tape .

Since I just got my new Robin's Nest Dew Drops I couldn't wait to use them. So I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere three of them to the bottom right side of the card.

As hard as I tried, I just couldn't make ribbon work with this design, and I have ribbon that matches it perfectly! So I decided to leave well enough alone.

The designer paper is some of my favorite. It's Memory Box Aerial paper collection.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great Friday...and a fabulous weekend.

The only bad thing.....

The ONLY bad thing about getting new inventory for the store almost every day is that it doesn't leave me any time to stamp! But we must all make sacrifices....right? LOL!
I am so excited about the Robin's Nest Dew Drops . I've never owned any before, and you certainly can't find anything like that in the stores where I live. I guess I got a little carried away, because I ordered LOTS of them in different colors!

And I just thought I *needed* one of those JustRite Monogram Stampers . I am a sucker for anything monogrammed! Some of the accessories for it are on backorder, but they have assured me they will be here soon.
For a very, very long time I have been collecting stamps to make my own recipe book. Then I found these great alterable Recipe Card Dividers , so I had to have them. Gosh....just think of all the things you could do with those!

Rubber Soul and Wordsworth are distributed by the same company. Since I needed to restock some of those elegant and beautiful Wordsworth stamps, I decided to try out a few of the Rubber Soul clear stamp sets. I love them already!

And last...but not least, I got these oh-so-cool Spellbinders Tag Dies , as well as a few others. Be sure to check them out in the store!


Okay....enough of that for tonight. I'm famished, and need to figure out what's quick and easy for dinner.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Birthday Hit!

I hope you all had the best Mother's Day ever! I expected all the grands to be here, but my daughter-in-law called this morning to say that she was called in to work today so they weren't going to be able to come. What a bummer! I did, however, get to talk to all the kids on the phone, so that was better than nothing!

I also talked on the phone with Laurie , Tosh , and Cammie to wish them all a Happy Mother's Day. Let me tell you, we had some great conversations. They are so much fun! Special friends, indeed!

Since I was home alone today I put my time to good use. I worked on orders from three different companies...so there will be more fun new things for the store soon.


This is a quick and easy card I made for my grandson's 4th birthday, which was yesterday. His older brothers play baseball, and he *attempts* to play with them, so I think he will like it.

The main image on the card is Changito Play Ball by Stampendous. I stamped it on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. It was colored using Tombow markers and a blender pen.

The sentiment, also from Stampendous, is called Birthday Hit .

Nothing fancy or complicated about this cute little card. But I think it's a great one for my grandson's birthday.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I promise to come back as soon as I have a little more stamping time.

Have a great Sunday evening....and a fantastic week!

Country Road

I received a new shipment of Northwoods Rubber Stamps last week. This is a new image I haven't had in the store before called Country Road .

I stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with Detail Clear embossing powder by JudiKins.

The stamped image was colored using Tombow markers and a blender pen.

The scallop on the bottom of the green panel was cut with my Scallop Fiskar Scissors, and the ribbon is May Arts .



I will be the first to admit that this isn't my best work, but someone will enjoy it, so I decided it's a keeper.

I know this is short and sweet. But I had a meeting at work that kept me there a couple of extra hours tonight. So when I got home I decided to go ahead and post so I could get some other things done this evening.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope to be back soon with something new!

True Friends...

I had great intentions to get a lot of stamping done this weekend. It didn't happen! But I DID make this card today!

All images are from Penny Black. The flower stamp is called Gossamer , and the butterfly is called Bohemian .

I stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The stamped images were colored using Tombow markers and a blender pen. I added Stardust Stickles glitter glue to the dots on the butterfly.

The sentiment, also from Penny Black, is called True Friends . The little ribbon tab is May Arts Textured Stripe . I know you can't see much of it on the card, but I thought it needed that little touch of deep rose.

I am posting earlier than usual tonight so I can get some things done around the house, make something decent for dinner, then prepare for work tomorrow. AND I have to be ready to watch Desperate Housewives when it comes on a little later. :-)

Thanks for stopping by....have a great evening.

So Special...

I love Hero Arts stamps!

The branch is a new stamp from Hero Arts called Flower and Leaf Branch . I stamped it across the top of the paper to hold the Bird in Cage , then stamped portions of it twice more. The leaves and flowers were colored with Tombow markers and a blender pen.

The flowers were embellished with Small Blossom Gemstones , and Assorted Gemstone Crystals also from Hero Arts.


The sentiment is from the Hero Arts So Many Messages stamp set. I used my circle Nestabilities to cut and frame it.

The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Sultry paper pad, and the ribbon is May Arts Olive Checker ribbon. Those narrow ribbons really come in handy!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Beach Bum

This is a quick and simple card. Nothing fancy about the design. It seems that quick and simple is all I have time for these days!

This image was so darned cute that I really wanted to use it. It's from the new Stampendous release and is called Changito Pool Guy .

I stamped it on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, and embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored using Tombow (water based) markers.

The sentiment, also from Stampendous, is a clear stamp called Beach Bum . I particularly like this stamp because of the open lines that you can color to match your image. I also like the very reasonable price! :-)

I added Stampendous GeoShapes Sparkler Stickers to embellish. The designer paper is from Flair designs, and the ribbon is from May Arts .

Thanks for stopping by. I will be doing some stamping in the next few days, so be sure to check back in.