Ti Stamps Up

I've moved!!

2010-05-01T01:51:00.000-04:00

I'm moving to a new blog! No longer am I focusing on Stampin' Up! and all the stupid craziness that goes along with it. Now I'm focusing on my life....trying to conceive, going through a miscarriage, and working on our house along with other ramblings.

www.launchingprojecth.blogspot.com

Apparently Stampin' Up! has become way too political. As a demo with a blog, I can't mention anything name brand...not even Target!!! It can only be Stampin' Up!. Forget that. Now I can blog about anything and everything, and if you haven't guessed it, I'm dropping demo status.

Please check me out at www.launchingProjectH.blogspot.com

The Bright SC 238

2009-08-13T07:45:00.000-04:00

Definately brightening up this sketch challenge! I got the colors from my designer buttons in "playground". They included all the colors. I would have never thought about matching them together.

Stamps: Garden Whimsy

Card Stock: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Inks: Real red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive

Accessories: 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in Old Olive, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Pumpkin Pie, Designer Buttons in Playground, square punches

Hola Perfect Plum DSP

2009-08-12T00:27:00.000-04:00

More purple!

What I used:
Stamps: Hola de Nuevo

Card Stock: Perfect Plum DSP, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Inks: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Sage Shadow

Accessories: Very Vanilla 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, basic grey corduroy brads

Guess Whooooo?

2009-08-10T00:42:00.005-04:00

Cute and simple layout that hit me. I'm loving my square punches!

Stamps: Owl Together

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Inks: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Garden Green

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Square Punches, Blender Pens, Designer Buttons in Playground, 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon in Old Olive

Cottage Wall IV

2009-08-07T19:41:00.006-04:00

The fourth installment of my cottage wall week! Not sure if I like this card or not...but still loving the cottage wall!
Enjoy!

What I used:
Stamps: Hello Again
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Cottage Wall DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon, large oval punch, heart to heart punch, filigree designer brads

Cottage Wall III

2009-08-04T10:36:00.006-04:00

The third edition to the "cottage wall" series. I really love how all the oval punches fit together. Enjoy!

What I used:
Card Stock: Cottage Wall, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Orchard Opulence
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Inks: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon

Cottage Wall II

2009-08-04T10:29:00.005-04:00

Second card made using cottage wall DSP. I have a funny feeling I'll be needing to purchase more of this. Enjoy!

What I used:
Stamps: Herb Expressions

Card Stock: Cottage Wall, Rich Razzleberry, Orchard Opulence, Whisper White

Inks: Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Wide Oval Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Butterfly Punch

FYI~~>Buttons have been found!

Cottage Wall I

2009-08-04T10:14:00.005-04:00

A week to explore cottage wall designer series paper, and how addicting this paper is going to be! I can honestly say, this is one of the prettiest papers Stampin' Up! has ever come out with...not just because it's purple either. ;)

What I used:
Stamps: Happy Together
Card Stock: Cottage Wall, Orchard Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Inks: Orchard Opulence, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Scallop Oval punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Rich Rzzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon

I'm also on a mission to find missing SU buttons. During this search, I've discovered 2 stamp pads of Versamark and a pad of Staz On. Isn't it just my lucky day?

Deal of the Week #2!

2009-07-06T12:51:00.001-04:00

Pick up the Sizzix doctor's bag for 30% off this week only!

If you're wondering where I've been...

2009-07-04T06:14:00.005-04:00

Things are crazy anymore, and I haven't felt very creative lately when it comes to Stampin' Up! However, I have been working a lot more on scrapbooking. I've been scrapbooking wedding photos so much that I'm tired of looking at the darn things!

Jeff and I decided to take the big step...you know...the BIG one...we decided to...

...get a dog. This is Bernie, a full blooded beagle. In this photo he's 5 months. He'll be 6 months on the 7th.

I can say one thing...if having a puppy is anything like a child, then I'll skip birthing babies. This dog is smart! Too smart for my own good. Right now we're going through a hiding phase. Everything has to be hid. You give him a treat, he goes and hides it. He hides toys, socks, underwear....I'm starting to think it's not going to be a phase, but a life long struggle.

But how can you not love those big brown eyes? He's such a sweet lil turd, and a good napper.

I'm so happy that my husband finally let me have a dog even though a beagle was not my choice. He wanted a hunting dog. A hunting dog...*looks at Bernie sleeping on the couch*....yeah, right.

On a higher note, I no longer have birds or squirrels in my back yard.

Brain Freeze!

2009-03-18T12:11:00.007-04:00

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I forgot that I use Window’s Live Writer, and that’s how I get the new nifty watermark on my photos! Eesh!

Here’s a few cards to share with you this week! Enjoy!

Urban Masculine Cards!

2009-03-04T01:55:00.002-05:00

I’ve been fighting with myself on how to make masculine cards. I felt like I had no supplies to do it, until I started looking through my DSP. I noticed that Urban Garden had a really nice striped paper. When I looked up the colors in the paper…gray, not quite navy, baja breeze, and kiwi kiss…I thought it would work well!

This is my birthday card! Just a side not…to color the party hats, I colored each one individually using my ink pads and blender pens.

Stamps: Party Hearty

Paper: Urban Garden DSP, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss

Inks: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories: Scallop circle punch, 1” punch, 3/4” punch, clear rhinestone brad, kiwi kiss ribbon, blender pens

And who doesn’t love a good hoot? On this one I water colored the owls and tree.

Stamps: Owl Together

Paper: Urban Garden DSP, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss

Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8” circle punch, 1 1/4” circle punch, Scallop border punch, aqua painters, kiwi kiss ribbon

One sketch, 2 different looks!

2009-02-27T02:57:00.005-05:00

With Splitcoast Stamper's weekly sketch challenge, I've taken one sketch and done 2 completely different looks.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Heard from the Heart
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Blender Pen, 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip

What I used:
Stamps: Cheep Talk
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Accessories: 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon in Kiwi Kiss, Stampin' Dimensionals

SC215

2009-02-27T02:51:00.003-05:00

I've finally started doing some more sketch challenges from Splitcoast Stampers!
This challenge I decided to use Cheep Talk for the first time. It's such a cute lil set!

Stamps: Cheep Talk

Paper: Pacific Point, Good Morning Sunshine DSP

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Brown, Pacific Point Blue

Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon in Pacific Point, corduroy buttons in summer sun

So Tweet!

2009-02-22T01:42:00.010-05:00

I'm loving the 60s feel of Stampin' Up!'s new catalog! The birds and owls are so cute!
This is my first time playing with chipboard, and I mainly used glitter on it with the heat and stick powder which is amazing by the way.

For those of you who have never tried it before, you just put versamark on your image, add heat and stick powder, and then heat it up with your heat gun. This creates a glue. Then add your glitter, shake off the excess, and heat it up again with the gun to "set" it. Yeah it's a few extra steps, but it really does a nice job.

The owl card is for my mom's 50th birthday. I didn't go down the typical slap in your face black card...even though that was my first instinct.

For this I used the On Board So Tweet which is a set of chipboard. It has owls, birds, branches, and pears. Very cute!
Notice how I pulled up a corner of the DSP to show the reverse side.
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: On Board So Tweet, Fine Supernova Glitter which is a set of 5 different colors.

The bird card is for my husband, Jeff. He and my mother share the same birthday, minus the year.

Used the same as above only added Pacific Point and Summer Sun paper, and the ribbon is Pacific Point.

Dead Ladybug

2009-02-15T15:01:00.002-05:00

A quick and simple birthday card I made for a coworker who loved the mock ladybug birthday invite I made the other week. So I decided since he's getting older, we'll make this a dead bug. I didn't have the supplies to add antenas or anything, since I threw it together so quick, but I think he'll get the idea.

All I used was George cartridge for my Cricut and cut out circles, and then the Xs.
The wings open up to show this....

Groundhog Valentine

2009-02-13T13:39:00.003-05:00

If you only knew my husband....He's a big time hunter, and I'm not. He's constantly going out to the fields and killing off the groundhogs. I'm not a fan of this. I think they're ugly and cute at the same time, but I understand how they tear everything up. I even think during the winter months he gets depressed, because they're hibernating.
I was bashing my brains out trying to come up with the "perfect" valentine's day card. I know he'll like anything, but I really wanted to make him smile.
He let me buy...well, I shouldn't say he LET me, but he agreed to it...a laptop with our tax return. Now I can have my laptop in my scrap room, and hook up Design Studio to my Cricut. Oh yeah!
So I was online, and I knew it was a long shot, but I posted on a messageboard if anyone had a groundhog Cricut cut file...and sure enough...someone did! Can you believe that?
So here's what I came up with....

Skulls Set

2009-02-13T12:07:00.007-05:00

My coworkers gilrfriend is big into skulls, and he asked me if I could come up with something for her for valentine's day. This is a "card box", I guess you'd say. It can hold up to 4 cards comfortably along with envelopes, maybe more.

This was all made with Indie Cart from Cricut and Just Jawing from SU.

Here's the box:

This is my favorite card and of course the photo taken is the crappiest. It's Basic Black card stock, and the skull and "heartbreaker" are done in a hot pink paper. Silver cord is wrapped multiple times around the top.

The New Hair

2009-02-09T12:50:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was out with my friend Lindsay having lunch and doing some shopping, when I just had a fit of rage. After trying to grow my hair out forEVer, I was so tired of it. It had taken me sooo long to try to style it that morning. It didn't want to do anything, and I had JUST had it cut. That was it.

Maybe it was all the MSG in the Chinese food, but I stomped into a "walk in" salon, and begged for it to be chopped off. The gal razored the crap out of my hair. I mean...it looked like a dead hairy animal was all over the floor. This was the result:

I know you can't see the back, but it is short and messy. I love it.

I'm also on my 2nd week of Accutane, and it's going smashing. No new break outs, and my old spots are slowly starting to fade.

You can stop drooling at me now! HAHA! KIDDING!!

SAB, Free Catalogs, Raffle!

2009-02-07T13:25:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note this early Saturday morning...Okay, so it's 1:30 in the afternoon, but when you work my hours, this is early.

Sale a Bration has kicked into high gear with Stampin' Up!. For every $50 you spend, you get to pick a *FREE* item from the Sale a Bration Mini Catalog. Usually as a demo, I'd tell you that you get to pick a free stamp set, but this year is different! Not only do they have great stamp sets that are *only* available during this sale and will never be released again, they also have 12x12 designer series paper and ribbon!

In addition to that great special, every online order placed through my demo website, www.tistampsup.stampinup.net, you will receive a free 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog. This usually costs $9.95!

And last....for every $50 you spend, you'll be entered in an awesome raffle full of wonderful goodies and stamp sets! Sorry no pictures of all the greatness, but that's to come!

All of this is going on until March 31st!!!

Rock On Birthday

2009-02-06T01:12:00.003-05:00

Can you say rock on? This card is sweet! Not bragging or anything...lol...but I love this card so much that I really don't want to give it to the birthday girl it's intended for! Yes! A birthday card!

This is probably one of my first cards where I really played with circles, and I like how it turned out. The skull's original heart eyes were cut out with a 3/4" circle punch, and then ghostly ghouls DSP was put behind it with a 1" punch. I then stamped the stars out in kiwi kiss, and put dimensionals behind them, so they'd pop out. The white decorative design at the bottom was already on the DSP, and then it's topped off with a bit of ribbon. I stamped on the inside of the card the "You Rock" sentiment with the just jawing stamp set in craft white.

Stamp Set: Just Jawing
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Ghostly Ghouls DSP (retired)
Ink: Black
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss ribbon, dimensionals, punches as listed above.

Can you believe that I originally grabbed a cupcake stamp set? Boy did this turn out the exact opposite!

Stocking up on thank you's!

2009-01-29T00:18:00.004-05:00

Boy! Did we ever get some snow last night and today! I think it totaled to be a foot. Last night, leaving work at 3:30am, it was HORRIBLE driving home!

Jeff & I woke up this morning to nothing but a thick heavy blanket of pure white snow. So pretty, but I had a doctor's appointment to get to which was 20 miles away, and if I didn't get to it, I wouldn't get back in for another 6 weeks! My wonderful parents came down (they only live 8 houses down from us) in their truck to pick us up and take me. What normally is a 20 minute drive turned into an hour. My poor doc! He was the only one who showed up to work! Haha!

This afternoon Jeff and my dad plowed our neighbors out, and by the time they got to our house, our neighbor already did it!

So tonight's project was to make a couple of thank you cards. All Stampin' Up! products of course! It had been so long since I made a card, I was like, "What size do I cut this down to?"

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Hawaii Papaya DSP (retired)
Accessories: Designer Brads in Filigree Assortment, Kiwi Kiss ribbon

Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Eastern Blooms
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Hawaii Papaya DSP (retired)
Accessories: Designer Brads in Filigree Assortment, Tangerine Tango ribbon

Brrr!

2009-01-07T01:54:00.005-05:00

Brrr! is right! This was taken of my cats, Mae and Kooba, on one of the first days where the snow actually stuck. It was quite cold, and I discovered both of them all wrapped up in the blankets in my bed. I don't have kids, so I scrap my cats. Hah!!

This layout took way longer than what I wanted it to. I used Hello Kitty font cartridge for my title and "December 2008" along with Joys of the Season for my snowflakes. All cardstock is Bazzill Bling, my newest addiction, and there's even some glitter on the snowflakes.

PS....Glitter is the root of all evil.

Wedding Album - Groom's Cake

2009-01-03T01:48:00.008-05:00

I told you it wasn't ALL black and white!

Why a turtle? The story behind the groom's cake...The shorter story is that Jeff and I have a little inside joke about how turtles DO make noises! They go...*high pitched voice* "Turtle! Turtle!"

We weren't going to have a groom's cake, since we were doing cupcakes, and that was more than enough, but at the very last minute, I wanted to get him one. I called up our cupcake lady askign for a brightly decorated turtle shaped cake. She did it, and it looked so cute! It was so cute that I didn't want to eat it! It sat in our fridge for a week until Jeff hacked into it! :(

I placed photos of us taken at the Newport Aquarium around the cake.

Cartridges used were Plantin Schoolbook and Stretch Your Imagination.

Wedding Album - Happily Ever After

2009-01-03T01:39:00.005-05:00

This photo was snapped in the doorway of the little country church we were married in. We were taking a moment of soaking in everything after all the pictures were finished. Neither Jeff nor I cried during the whole ceremony. I think we got that out of the way during rehearsal. We were just so giddy and excited. We worked so hard to make this day so special for our friends and family and to make our ceremony unique and our own. After all the stress of the day and realizing how smooth it all was going, we were just kinda relaxing. Actually, we were rubbing noses in this photo.

The photo is an 8x10". All the cardstock is Bazzill Bling. The background white, photo mated in silver, scrolls done in a red and black.

The cartridge used was Storybook.

Wedding - First Dance Layout

2009-01-03T01:23:00.009-05:00

I'm very excited to get started on our wedding album. I'm even more excited, because I know now have a BIG Cricut along with a shit load of cartridges! Life is sweet, ladies!

This layout is of our first dance. Our song is "Some People Aren't Lucky Like Us" by LeAnn Rimes. The song completely fits us. After going through a dozen songs or so, I finally came across this one, and I knew it was meant for us.

The scrapbook is mainly black and white photos, and the only colors I'm using are silvers, grays, reds, blacks, whites...you kinda get the idea. I will have a few colors pages.

I used Calligraphy and Home Decore cartridges.

Enjoy!

I love how my mouth is hanging open!

Notice the gorgeous scroll work on the sides? That's from Home Decor which is ONLY available on the Black Friday special that Wal Mart offered.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-16T02:12:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays from the Hildebrands!
*sorry it's so white*

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2008-12-10T13:51:00.011-05:00

Last night Jeff and I put up our Christmas lights! You have NO idea how excited he was to do this! This is our first year in our house, too! Jeff refused to hang anything up from the room, so we just kinda decorated everything 6 feet and down! LOL I'll have to share pics later!

Last night I cooked dinner and my inlaws came over. They brought the tree over, and we'll need to get that up, too! We're slacking, I know! Jeff's going to be a doll and put it up on his own tonight while I'm at work.

As for work, I'm still getting used to these semi 3rd shift hours. It's been hard, but I think when I get my paycheck tomorrow, it'll be well worth it.

I think I figured out another card I'll be mass producing! I just LOVE this! It's so easy to make! Plus I love the colors! I was so wrong about these incolors.

This is a card that I made for a great customer of mine! She's just awesome!

I'm not too crazy about the card below, but I was just playing around...trying to come up with something easy.

I love this card, too! Simple, elegant, love the scalloped edges! Very easy to mass produce. When you're making tons of cards for the holidays, you want something easy.

Hope these inspire some of you! Please note that everything used on here is Stampin' Up! products.

Free Shipping & Retired List!

2008-12-10T01:55:00.002-05:00

It's here! The retired list! Pick up these stamp sets before they're gone forever! To make the deal even more sweet, you can get an extra 10% off of these! Want to add a cherry on top? FREE SHIPPING for orders of $70 or more!!!!! What's not to love?

View the retired list HERE!!!

Super Easy & Simple Christmas

2008-12-05T00:57:00.005-05:00

You can't get any easier than these 2 cards right here! Since I make so many Christmas cards, I try to keep it simple and easy.

Seasons of Joy is a great stamp set, because it includes everything you need! Great images, a couple of sayings, and background stamps. That makes this an awesome one stamp set wonder. You've got everything you need in one set! A great start for beginners.

For this holiday season, like the last, I decided to use the in colors which is funny, because I swore I wouldn't even purchase them. I didn't need it. I didn't want left over items at the end of the in color season. But do I ever listen to myself? No!

The base is a standard size card but cut the long ways. The layered piece is 4x5.25", and the white is 3.75x3.75".

What I used:

Stamp set: Seasons of Joy

Inks: Card #1: Pacific Point Blue, Kiwi Kiss Baja Breeze Blue; Card #2: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive

Card Stocks: Card #1: Pacific Point Blue, Baja Breeze Blue, Whisper White; Card #2: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Whisper White

Accessories: Ribbon in Little Riding Hood Red & Pacific Point Blue, Dimensionals, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, scalloped circle punch, ticket corner punch.

I whipped out 17 of these cards in lickity split! That's how easy they are!

I'm almosted finished with my Christmas shopping. I just need to figure out my dad! Why does he have to be the most difficult to buy for? His hobbies are way too expensive for our budget! LOL

Sketch Challenge 199

2008-11-24T13:51:00.009-05:00

I'm alive! After taking a much needed break, I'm back to having fun stamping!!

With this sketch challenge from SplitCoastStampers, I decided to have some fun with cupcakes, and some gorgeous new designer series paper!

What I used:
Stamp Sets: Crazy For Cupcakes
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Washington Big Apple DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, So Safron
Accessories: Blender Pens, Designer Brads, Ribbon

What's a mummy's favorite kind of music?

2008-10-26T21:11:00.007-04:00

Oh yes! I better jump on the band wagon and use up my ghostly greetings DSP before next Friday!

I made 3 cards in less than 30 minutes. That's right! I was, for once in my life, able to just whip something out like but-tah!

So how stinking easy and cute is this mummy card? All I did was cut an 8.5x11" piece of creamy caramel card stock long ways down the middle, and then I used whisper white for the rest. I sponged it to death with creamy caramel and swiped the strips of whisper white across the ink pad several times.

The eyes were made with punches.

Next we have a cute little spider card. No stamps needed! Just paper and punches! I cute white ribbon into a thin strip to make a string for the lil guy to dangle on.

Last I busted out my Just Jawing stamp set. I've neglected my little skull for awhile.

Where the hearts are for his eyes on the skull, I punched out with a circle punch, and then taped black card stock on the back of the skull. I wanted to do this so the stars could pop out of his eye sockets.

This is our first Halloween in our new house. Jeff's really excited to pass out candy. Living in the country all those years, he never got the opportunity to make little kids to beg for candy and teach them how to say thank you.

As the world sketches...

2008-10-16T21:45:00.005-04:00

This week on As the World Sketches, Ti catches up on two weeks of work.

The first one is Sketch Challenge 198 from SCS which involves circles. No circle cutter here except for my handy dandy Cricut.

What I used....
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink and some retired DSP paper.
Inks include chocolate chip
Accessories are ribbon and a brad along with the scalloped circle punch.
Stamp Set: The fabulous Party Hearty which I couldn't live without.

Next we have SC 197....layers galore.

Someone earlier today was asking me, "Bold brights or earth elements?", and I said I never grab for my bold brights, but tonight I did.

Stamp Sets: Priceless, Happy Everything

Paper: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise

Inks: Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Ribbon, corner punch, brads

See in the background I have my post it note of my sketch. Haha!

6 Pounds Later

2008-10-15T22:47:00.006-04:00

We adopted Kooba a week after Thanksgiving in 2007 from a nurse that I work with who's mother found him on her porch. He was adorable. Tiny. Teeny tiny. 2.1 pounds to be exact.

All he wanted was for Mae to love him. She tried when he first came out of the cage. She was all ready to lick him to death, but he freaked out on her. Then she kept her distance, but he wanted to cuddle so bad!

Just a little closer....

Score! Sweet, sweet cuddling victory! I know Mae doesn't look very happy, but this was as good as it got. LOL

He's not a loving cat, but when he does want a scratch, he definately makes a moment of it. I swear the lil bastard has ADHD.

Six pounds later, Kooba fractured his pelvic bone and bruised his femur pretty bad. Jeff accidently stepped on him, and I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. He's constantly running lapse around the house. He's recovering just fine but still tends to favor is right back leg. The vet says he'll grow old with no problems.

I don't have kids. I have cats. LOL

Yes...He knows he's a charmer.

My First Crop!

2008-10-14T16:14:00.006-04:00

I'm addicted! Last Friday night I went to my first crop with my mother in law, and I took along my new Cricut. I've never used it before, and I've barely even scrapbooked, but I had a goal in my head. I was going to scrapbook our cruise we took last year.

Here's the first layout I did. It's the day we spent at sea traveling back from Mexico to Miami. The title is made with the George font, and I also did a pocket to hold our itinerary for that day so you could see what we did.

The second layout is part of our day in Mexico. I begged Jeff not to stand directly under the coconut tree, but he wouldn't listen. It looks like the tree is growing out of his head!

The heading was cut out using George and Basic Shapes, and the palm trees from stretch your imagination.

2008-10-10T17:35:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow morning we're headed to Louisville to hear these boys tear the house down!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh2BFj4_kgM

I'm so excited! A couple car loads of us are headed down for the 5 hour drive, and my friend Robyn is driving up from Nashville.

We've got a hotel right downtown next to 4th street which is the entertainment street in Lousivlle.

Again, super excited!

See you all Monday!

Sketch Challenge 195

2008-10-09T23:49:00.005-04:00

Hello from the depths of my scrap room! I have crawled out of my busy funk and finally created a card! Go me! I tell ya it has been crazy around here!

Jeff took me to The Melting Pot for 80s night to celebrate my birthday. If you haven't tried it before, it's a fondue chain restaurant, so there might be one in your area. Very pricey, but we got a good deal on dinner that night. I honestly didn't think it was that great. If it wasn't for "Material Girl" playing in the background, it would have been a flop.

Then last Saturday the girls and I went to see the movie Nights in Rodanthe. Yet another flop for me. It was one of those love movies that I really wanted to end all sappy and typical, but no. It didn't. Complete bummer. But we did have great dinner, and then a night of cocktails and good music.

So here's a sketch challenge from SplitCoast Stampers that's a few weeks old, but I obviously have some catching up to do!

I must say I absolutely hate it. LOL I'm just being honest! I guess if I had more current DSP it wouldn't be so bad. I was just stumped, so I started sponging and didn't stop until I got this....

What I used:
Stamps: Stitched Exotics

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze

Ink: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Pacific Point ribbon, corner photos punch, sponges, brads

Not quite sure what to think of this creation. It's a little over done. It's been awhile since I've pulled out stitched exotics, so I was glad to get some dust off of it.

Big News! I got a Cricut! I know...a Stampin' Up! no no, but I'm sorry...you're going to start seeing some Cricut creations on here, since I'm trying to scrapbook on here.

My Challenge To You!

2008-10-07T16:51:00.002-04:00

Since I've been so busy lately, I'm going to throw a challenge to my fellow bloggers to help me get some inspiration!

I'm planning on having an 80s themed party, and I want to make my own invitations!

Show me your 80s inspired invitation, ladies!!!

No Cards This Week

2008-09-29T12:40:00.003-04:00

Sorry, but I won't be posting any cards this week!

Along with 12 hour shifts at work, I'm trying to finish up my stamp a stack. I still have some materials to cut. I think we'll only have 7 people, but I hope it'll be fun.

Plus Sunday is my birthday! My husband and I are celebrating it Tuesday night, since that's the only night we seem to have free together. I told you we're both so busy! LOL He's taking me to The Melting Pot which is a fondue restaurant, and Tuesday is their 80s themed night. I'm so excited! He's never been, and it's one of my favorite places to eat.

Saturday night a bunch of us girls are going out, since we have a couple of birthdays to celebrate. Should be a good time.

I hope to catch up on card sketches sometime on Sunday!

A dirty lil' secret...

2008-09-23T11:02:00.003-04:00

I'm going to let you in on a dirty little secret for the Month of October. To celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 20th birthday, you can get 20% off certain stamp sets!

All you have to do is spend $20 in regular merchandise, and then you can get 20% off any of the preselected birthday stamps.

If you need birthday stamps, this is definately a must!

Sketch Challenge 194 - Happy Halloween

2008-09-21T17:14:00.006-04:00

I need to start facing the fact. Fall is coming. Well, it's here. I need to deal with it.

My husband loves fall. He says it's the pumpkins, the colors, the weather....but I believe it's because of deer hunting season for him. *LoL* But who doesn't love the colors of fall? The oranges, browns, yellows, greens...all the earth elements. The crisp weather. Hays rides and spooky decorations. Plus there's nothing like being wrapped up in a blanket next to your loved one in front of a camp fire roasting marshmellows.

This is the sketch for this week! Again....great way to use bits and pieces of scraps!

So maybe this card doesn't show the romantic side of fall, but it brings out the fun of it! I didn't want to have a big square center image covering up the beautiful DSP, so I opted to cut out the skull.

If you look closely, I've let the "YUM" show across the bottom of the card from the DSP.

What I used:
Stamps: Just Jawing

Paper: Ghostly Greetings DSP, Basic Black

Ink: Old Olive

Sketch Challenege 193

2008-09-21T17:06:00.006-04:00

The sketch this week is a great way to use up paper scraps. You can find all of my sketch challenges at SplitCoastStampers.

This card just proves that sometimes you don't even need stamps. The Urban Garden DSP is so beautiful that it just doesn't need a sentiment. It speaks for itself.

So for those of you who say you can't make cards, because you don't own stamps....I've proved you wrong!

What I used....Urban Garden Designer Series Paper, Not Quite Navy and Baja Blue cardstock. That's it. Nothing more...nothing less.

I cut the little flower out of the paper and popped it out with Stampin' Dimensionals. I think that's one thing I can't live without. Dimensionals.

SC192 - Sympathy

2008-09-14T11:41:00.005-04:00

I'm definately behind on sketches. The past few weeks, SCS has had some great card sketches, but I have been so busy with work and simply unmotivated.

This sketch is excellent if you have a large image you want to use or multiple smaller ones. Very easy and simple.

I decided to make a sympathy card for this sketch. No idea why, but I wanted to use some flower images, and I haven't grabbed this sentiment in awhile.

I used the largest flower from Eastern Blooms in stamped it in elegant eggplant on top of the EE paper Gives it a nice tone on tone for the background. The white cardstock I tore, and then I colored in the flowers using my blender pens and ink from my stamp pads.

What I used:
Stamp Sets: Eastern Blooms, Close as a Memory
Paper: Alaways Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Elegant Eggplant ribbon, blender pens, Stampin' dimensionals

Retired DSP Swap

2008-09-11T13:24:00.011-04:00

Am I ever tired! Last week I worked 3 12's in a row, and this week I did the same. Only last night I worked my regular shift, 10:30a - 11p, and then picked up 11p-3:30a in registration in the ER. Can you say exhausted? My motivation is out the door today even though I have a crap load of stuff to do.

Just sorting cards for my first swap was tiresome! The theme was using the retired DSP! It was a lot of fun, and I rec'd some great cards in the mail from quite a few lovely ladies! If you've never swapped before I highly encourage it. It's a great way to get ideas, be inspired, and meet new people.
Enjoy!

Online Ordering!

2008-09-09T19:00:00.001-04:00

If you haven't heard by now, Stampin' Up! has launched their new website with ONLINE ordering! Now you can directly order through me online.

You can find out more information on my Stampin' Up! Webpage along with upcoming events and workshops.

I ordered all of my supplies for the upcoming Stamp a Stack for United Way, and I tweaked a couple of my cards. This is going to be a fun event on October 4th and for a great cause--United Way. Even if you don't make cards, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun getting your hands inked!

No photos to upload. I've been working a lot lately. Hopefully in the next 2 days I'll have some new cards to post.

Third Takes the Cake!

2008-09-02T16:10:00.004-04:00

So I didn't walk out of the fair with a boat load of ribbons, but my creative stamping entry did win third place! Woo hoo!

If you can't tell, it's a box that holds 4 cards with envelopes. A really cute gift idea.

I saw some really great scrapbook entries, and I got lots of ideas for next year. Maybe I'll be a more experienced scrapbooker by then...but I doubt it. LOL

United Way Fundraiser!

2008-09-02T15:59:00.006-04:00

Very very very simple cards....Great for beginners, too! Some of these will be used for my United Way Fundraiser which is being held on October 4th for only $20. You'll walk away with 16 cards and fun memories for a good cause!

Delightful cupcakes!

Stamps: Party Hearty

Card Stock: chocolate chip, pretty in pink, close to cocoa, whisper white

Ink: chocolate chip, pretty in pink

Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain in pretty in pink

Celebrate it all! I really love this popping card, but I definately think it would look better with 1/2 striped grosgrain ribbon in real red which I don't currently own.

Stamps: Celebrate Everything

Card stock: bashful blue, brilliant blue, real red, yoyo yellow

Ink: brilliant blue

Accessories: silver brads, large and small star punch, 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in real red

Stamps: Eastern blooms, "cherish" from Baroque Motifs

Ink: Night of Navy, Old Olive

Card Stock: old olive, night of navy, pumpkin' pie, whisper white

Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in pumpkin pie, circle punches, ticket corner punch

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Card stock: baja blue, kiwi kiss, whisper white

Ink: baja blue, pacific point

Accsesories: Scallop edge punch, 1/4" ribbon in chocolate chip

Swaps Galore!

2008-08-25T10:31:00.005-04:00

Swapping is an addiction! I've never been involved in so many swaps before. I've gotten so many great cards and excellent ideas from other stampers. Here's a few that's going to be mailed out soon....

I FINALLY got Garden Whimsy! It's been on my wish list since it's release, but I've just never picked it up. A kind person gave this to me in a trade. I really love it, because it's a good all in one stamp set. I'm not the kind of person to use 2 or 3 stamp sets to make one card, so I look for sets that have greetings and great images.

This card was made for the retired in color swap. Good bye gorgeous colors! Stampin' Up!'s now released 6 more beautiful in colors that you can play with!

Stamps: Garden Whimsy

Paper: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, Whisper White

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou

Accessories: Purely Pomegranate double stitch ribbon

The above card is for the retired Designer Series Paper swap that I'm hosting. For those of you who don't know, Stampin' Up! sells 12x12 patterned paper that's in the exclusive Stampin' Up! colors along with patterns that coordinate with stamps.

I've used Party Hearty, a new birthday stamp set. Again, this stamp set is great, because it's an all in one stamp set.

Stamps: Party Hearty

Paper: Tempting Turquoise DSP, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Real Red

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, So Saffron

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop circle punch, Real Red grosgrain ribbon

Last but not least...This is a card front for a swap that was held during a convention class I took with my upline last Sunday. I love this stamp set! And the skull paper is from Ghostly Greetings DSP (designer series paper) that's brand new as well.

Stamp: Just Jawing

Paper: Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black

Accessories: Pumpkin' Pie grosgrain ribbon, Ghostly Greetings DSP, Dazzling Diamonds

Monday Happenings...

2008-08-18T09:40:00.016-04:00

I entered all of my fair projects last night! I'm a first timer at this, so I had no idea what I was doing. I saw tons of gorgeous projects!

For my creative stamping project, I did a box with 4 matching cards and envelopes. I made this box thanks to the video tutorial at Dawn's blog. This is a simple and easy box. Great gift idea.

Stamps: One of a Kind, It's Beautiful wheel

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Berry Bliss DSP

Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Purely Pom ribbon, Punches

And then inside the box.....

Stamps: One of a Kind

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, WW, Purely Pomegranate

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate

Accessories: Chocolate Chip ribbon, Purely Pomegranate ribbon, punches, sponges, brads

For my card entry I did a joy fold card. I thought you were only suppose to entry one card, but some people had sheets of 6 or more. It just said, "Handmade Card" on the entry form. Card being singular...oh well!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Paper: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Garden DSP

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze

Splitcoast Color Challenge

2008-08-14T21:32:00.004-04:00

Splitcoast is great for having their daily challenges. I haven't tried one in awhile, so today I did their color challenge. The palette this week is old olive, elegant eggplant, and taken with teal. Old olive is one popular color here lately, and I always seem to reach for it.

Here's my design....

I wish I would have taken a better side picture of this, but I took an 8.5x11" piece of card stock in elegant eggplant and cut it down the center of the short side. Still a standard size card but longer.

So today I admitted that I am ribbon challenged. I can never tie a friggin' bow. For this I actually wrapped the ribbon around the card first and adhered it down. Then I tied a bow on the ribbon. Easy enough for me.

If you haven't invested in the scallop edge punch, you need to! It's the greatest.

Brown man, brown man, What do you see?

2008-08-13T16:54:00.009-04:00

I see a Stampin' Up! box looking at me!!!!

So I spoiled myself and did next day air shipping, and it was so worth it! I got to play with new toys today. I'm so glad I have the next 2 days off.

So this was my first attempt at doing a brayered sky with using the Owl Together Now stamp set. This stamp set is CUTE! And to be quite honest...I'm SO GLAD IT'S DIE CUT! I couldn't imagine cutting out all these lil pieces.

And last but not least...

Isn't Just Jawing to die for? When I saw I immediately thought top hat and bow tie! I even colored his lil tooth gold to make him a little "gangster". Haha! My dad loved this card!

Never Seen Before Promotion and Catalog Sampler!

2008-08-06T13:05:00.003-04:00

August 11th is the big day for Stampin' Up! It's the release of the new fall/winter catalog. Even though we have a few more days to go, here it's the new SAMPLER CATALOG for you to drool over!

Also on that Monday starts the Never Seen Before Promotion. Take an additional 15% off selected stamp sets!

Place an order with me, and after that 15% discount you can get another 20% off!

My first ever swap!

2008-08-06T12:56:00.002-04:00

I've never been in a swap before in my life, and I'm not quite sure why. They seem fun. So when I saw jbkmak on Splitcoast Stampers offering a swap to brand new swappers, I decided to jump on. She was very helpful and made it seem not so intimidating. Being a new swapper, I didn't want to screw anything up.

This is what I came up with for the swap, and it was great, because I was able to get rid of some of my DSP.

One perk about designer series paper is that it helps me get outside the box color wise. I'm the type of person who using everything in the same color family. This helps me take a color or two from different groups and put them together.

Stamps: Stitched Exotics, It's Beautiful jumbo wheel
Paper Used: Bali Breeze DSP, Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Old Olive
Inks: Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Old Olive
Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain ribbin in Pumpkin Pie, Stampin' Dimensionals

I'm happy you're not leaving me!

2008-08-06T12:49:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited that Stampin' Up! decided to keep Tart & Tangy along with the Summer Picnic DSP. You have no idea how much I love this cheap little stamp set.

These are cards I made from a small card class I held back in May using Tart & Tangy and Summer Picnic DSP.

Sketch Challenge 161

2008-02-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

I love doing the card sketches on Splitcoast Stampers! It's a great way to help me think outside the box! When Roxie posted this sketch, and I saw that "splat" of number 4, I immediately thought of something gawdy and big. :) So I grabbed Time Well Spent, because it has that HUGE flower in it!

I admit it. I did not care for this stamp set at all in the begining, but now it's slowly starting to grow on me. I'm not quite in the liking stage, but I'm tolerating it better. The thing I'm not crazy about is all the coloring that's required of this stamp set, so I decided to emboss it in white on purely pomegranate paper. I thought it turned out cute. Very simple card, great sketch, and good colors.

What I used:
Stamp Sets: Time Well Spent

Paper: River Rock, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate

Inks: Versa Mark, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Groovy Guava

Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun

Is this where I insert my little sales pitch? Time Well Spent can be yours for FREE if you host a party that totals $500 in sales!! :)~

But don't forget about Sale a Bration where I will pay for your shipping and tax with a $40 or more purchase!

Time for an Update!

2008-02-07T19:03:00.000-05:00

It's about darn time I updated this thing! I've been playing around A LOT today, and I finally got Define Your Life and Schoolbook Serif mounted.

What I used...

Stamp Sets: Define Your Life, Schoolbook Serif Alphabet

Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose

Inks: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Brads, 1/16" circle punch, Photo Corners punch, dimensionals, 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon in Regal Rose, sponges

Don't forget about SALE A BRATION! For every $50 you spend you get a free stamp set from the Sale A Bration mini catalog. By placing an order of $40 or more, I'll pay for your tax and shipping!

Valentine's Day--80s Style

2008-01-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

Don't you miss the neons of the 80s? Wearing a hot pink sock on one foot and a neon green on the other over your black leggings? Okay...maybe not...but why not include it in a card? :)

I decided to try a technique from SCS where you emboss your image in white, and then color over in pastels. It's sloppy, but I had fun with the colors.

What I used:

Stamps: Priceless
Cardstock: Basic Black, Lovely Lilac
Inks: Versamark
Accessories: Patels (bold brights), brad, dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun

New Year--New Workshop--New Catalog!

2008-01-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

Finally! It's here! The brand new Spring/Summer Stampin' Up! catalog!

I'd like to invite you to my first workshop of the year!

Saturday January 19th at 5pm
We'll make 3 projects geared towards valentine's day!
Place an order of $40 or more, and I'll pay for your shipping!
Beverages and snacks provided
Please RSVP to TiStampsUp@Yahoo.com. Space is LIMITED!

Also take advantage of the Valentine's Day Bundle!

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/US_Valentines_Bundle_0108.pdf

This bundle includes:

Happy Heart Day Stamp Set *brand new*
Medium Cellophane Bags
5/8" Grosgrain Wide Ribbon in Real Red
5/8" Grosgrain Wide Ribbon in Regal Rose

All this for $33.40! That's a savings of $7.95!

Can't make it to this workshop? Book at workshop of your own during the month of January! If your sales total $350 or more, you'll receive a FREE stamp set out of the Spring/Summer Preview Brochure. A savings of up to $29.95!

The Big Day!

2008-01-01T22:44:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day! It's the public release of the new Spring/Summer Stampin' Up! catalog! I think you'll be pleased with it. It's a nice fresh change. Some very pretty items in there along with some gorgeous papers.

Tuesday's Color Challenge

2008-01-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

Today's color challenge feature on SplitCoastStampers is Real Red, Certainly Celery, and Taken With Teal. I love Taken With Teal with Real Red! It's one of my favorite color combinations, and celery really makes the colors pop even more.

Today was a dull and dreary cold day, so what better than a funeral card?

It's tough to see the watermark on the bottom right hand corner, but it reads, "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.--Thomas Moore".

For the folows, I used my aqua paint brush and colored directly on the stamp with my water coloring crayons.

What I used:

Stamps: Close as a Memory
Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Taken with Teal, Real Red
Ink: Versa Mark
Accessories: Stampin' Up! Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Real Red and Certainly Celery.

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-21T12:37:00.000-05:00

My new years resolution is to starting focusing on my blog more! I'm really disappointed in myself for not updating enough and even more upset that I'm not focusing on Stampin' Up! as much as I'd like to. Now with the holidays coming to a close, I'm going to jump on the back on the wagon.

Besides, I have a whole NEW Stampin' Up! catalog sitting on the coffee table waiting for my little hands to get on it! That's right! The post office was good to me by delivering my brand spankin' new Stampin' Up! 2008 Spring/Summer catalog! Is it ever gorgeous, too! I'm starting to like the idea of 2 new catalogs a year. It's nice and fresh!

Speaking of the holidays....here's my holiday card I sent out to everyone!

Definately different for the holiday season. Jeff and I haven't been traditional at all this year, especially with our white tree and all, so I decided to use colors that weren't your normal red and green. I thought it came out good. My upline loved it, and that's all that matters! Ha! Besides, I HAVE to start using more of that silver cord I bought from her 3 years ago! I didn't realize it was 75 yards!

I love stamp sets like Baroque Motifs or Priceless like I used in my previous post. They cover so much! You have a background stamp, images, words, phrases. They're just good stamp sets to have, and you get more bang for your buck!

What I used

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs
Card Stock: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Inks: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Old Stampin' Up! silver cord

My First SplitCoast Challenge

2007-12-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

Okay so I'm a few days behind...but I decided to try one of the Split Coast Stamper's challenges. I always say I'll do one, but never do. Today I thought I'd roll their sketch AND color challenge into one using elegant eggplant, wild wasabi, and so saffron. The layout is definately different. Something I never would have thought up on my own.

And this is how it turned out.

I'm not too crazy about the "priceless" in the bottom left hand corner, but I didn't want to layer it again.

What I used:
Stamp Set: Priceless

Inks: Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron

Card Stock: Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron

Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in elegant eggplant, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Wrapping Up The Holidays

2007-12-04T23:29:00.001-05:00

Check out this awesome promotion from Stampin' Up! here:
http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/US_Wrapping_Flyer_1107.pdf
Take advantage of this promotion, and I will throw in FREE shipping with a minimum order of $40!!

Say Good Bye!

2007-12-04T23:16:00.000-05:00

This is the first of the semiannual retired stamp sets. You can view the retired list at the right of my blog. Nifty, huh? These stamp sets will no longer be available after the first of the year. See something you like? Grab it now, and I'll pay for your shipping with a minimum $40 purchase!

Blogging Bandwagon

2007-12-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

I did it. I created a blog. Now I can share all of my creations with the world...okay, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but it is to me.

Hello! My name is Ti, and I've been using Stampin' Up! since 2005, and a demonstrator since September of this year. Stampin' Up! has allowed me to meet quite a few fantastic people and grow closer to the friends who are dear to me. It's amazing how one product can bring so many people together for a funfilled afternoon. Stampin' Up! lets the creative side in me flourish. I never knew I could create the items I do and learn so many tricks and techniques. It's a great outlet after a frustrating day.

A small portion of the Stampin' Up! background:

At Stampin' Up! we are excited to share our exclusive line of decorative stamp sets and accessories for greeting cards, scrapbooking, craft projects and home decor! Since 1988, our wide assortment of stamp images, techniques, and design has been helping crafters discover and express their creativity. Stampin' Up! products are not sold in stores but may be purchased at home workshops or through a network of independent sales consultants called Stampin' Up! demonstrators. Currently, more than 50,000 demonstrators from all 50 states and Canada teach the art of stamping and share their enthusiasm for stamping, scrapbooking, and card making.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and that it can help your creative side come alive.