Happy Halloween and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my little boy!!!

Griffen was born eleven years ago today on Halloween!!

Here he is sporting his birthday gift from us, a new bat bag with a brand new bat. I have no idea about these things but his dad does so he picked them out. He did LOVE them!!

And since today is Halloween I wanted to share with all of you my very last Halloween project I made and this one is by far my FAVORITE!!!!

Are these not awesome!!?? I picked up the white pumpkins from Michael's when they had them 50% off and using our Spooky Things Black Decor Elements, Black Flourish Designer Jewels, Basic Black 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Neutral Designer Buttons, Natural Hemp Twine and the Big Shot with the Leaves #2 Original Die & the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder I decorated them.

I think they turned out too cute, I mean too spooky!!!!! What do you all think?

I learned this button trick with the Natural Hemp Twine from my friend, Kimberly Van Diepen. Several of us helped her with her swap card at Founder's Circle and this is the part we got to do for her cards. It is really a fun and neat accent to add to your buttons.

Have a great day!!!

UDI Saturday Sketch #107

Sorry about skipping last weeks UDI Saturday Sketch Challenge!! Time just got away from me and before I knew it it was time to post and I had nothing to show all of you!! But I am back this week and let me tell you all I had a hard hard time with this sketch!! Head on over to the UDI Blog to check out the sketch. This card took me a little while to come up with and I am still not sure about it?? Let me know what you all think!!

I used the Newsprint DSP, Basic Black & Very Vanilla Card Stock, Raven 1/2" Lace Trim, Antique Brads, Fabulous Phrases Stamp Set, Distressing Essentials, Word Window Punch and my sewing machine.

I inked the edges of each word so they would stand out against this background. I picked the words with one of my best friends in mind since it will be her birthday this weekend.

This week I am going to be sending you to Adriana's Blog since Carol is not joining us this week. So hop on over to Adriana's to see what she has in store for us this week.

Have a great day!!

Stamping 411-Sketch Challenge #175

Ready for another super sketch from the Stamping 411 Blog? Well lets get to it!!

When I saw this sketch it just screamed Scrapbooking to me!! And that is what I did with it!!!

So how do you think it turned out? I am pretty happy with it and love how I made the picture mat using my Big Shot!!

I used the Autumn Spice DSP, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, More Mustard & Early Espresso Card Stock, Scallop Border & Medium Jewelry Tag Punches, Natural Hemp Twine, Designer Buttons, Waffle Paper, Thankful For Stamp Set, Gold Glow & Log Cabin Smooch Spritz and the Big Shot with the Leaves #2 Original Die, Top Note Bigz Die, Clear Circle Bigz Clear Die, Billboard Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die & Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

I just LOVE how this title area turned out!!! I first started with a circle of scrap card stock cut using the Clear Circle Bigz Die & the Big Shot. I then covered a small area at a time with Multipurpose Liquid Glue, took small pieces of the Waffle Paper scrunched up and pressed them into the glue. I did this for the whole circle. Pretty cool looking??

For the photo mat I took a 9" x 7" piece of Cajun Craze Card Stock, folded it in half and then in half again. I placed the "closed" corner right below the cutting edge and to the right of the left cutting edge side of the Top Note Die. Run this through your Big Shot. After doing this you will unfold your Top Note and it will turn out this big. I used my Bone Folder to crease out the folded edges.

Make sure you check out the Stamping 411 Blog to see what the other Operators did with this same sketch!!! While you are there make sure you play along with us too!!

Have a great day!!

Fall Fun

I am sharing a scrapbooking layout with all of you that we did in Club this month. Can you see that stamp set again that I posted about on this POST? I told you I loved it!!!

This layout is actually using the Presto Patterns Specialty DSP and I showed all my club members how to work with it. They all said that they never noticed this paper pack before and if they did they did not know how to use it. I love showing ladies things that just WOW them!!!! AND this paper is an awesome WOW for anyone!!!

I also used Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy & Riding Hood Red Card Stock, French Foliage Stamp Set, Broadsheet Alphabet Stamp Set, Jewelry Tag Punch, Natural Twine, Vintage Trinkets, Brayer and the Big Shot with the Tasteful Trim Bigz xl Die.

I picked out a design from the Presto Patterns Specialty DSP and using my Brayer I rolled on Not Quite Navy Classic Ink until I got the desired color I wanted. After I was done I took a piece of paper towel and rubbed over the ink to remove the ink from the embossed image. This gives you the emboss resist look and it is AWESOME!!!

Have a great day!!

Fall Swap Card

Have you ever looked at a stamp set and thought you would never buy that or that is a stamp set you would never use? Well that is just what I did when I saw this one on the Holiday Mini!! But after seeing so many people use it and showing off their beautiful creations with it I just HAD to have it!!! And I can say this is one purchase I am really happy I made!! I love this stamp set!!!

This is the card I made for my downline monthly swap this month. We do a monthly swap with a theme each month and let me tell you my downline ROCKS!!! I love each and every card I get for each months swap!!

This card uses the French Foliage Stamp Set from the Holiday Mini, Very Vanilla & Cajun Craze Card Stock, Very Vanilla 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Scallop Oval & Large Oval Punches and the Antique Brads.

For this card I did do some Rock'n Roll. You take your stamp image, ink it up in your lightest color ink and then just roll the edges of the image in a darker color ink. Huff the image and stamp. You get a different look each time!!! I did see a card on Stampin' Connection that I based my card off of. This is a website for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators only and is a great resource!! All the demonstrators across the states share so much information and all their artwork that it makes stamping a whole lot easier when you might be in a crunch or just stumped for some reason!! One of the many many reasons being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is AWESOME!!!

Have a great day!!

Simply Adorned Inserts

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us, and there's no better way to show how much you care than with beautiful handmade cards, gifts, and gift packaging. And our ABC's of the Perfect Handmade Holiday Promotion provides you, my customers, with everything you need to do just that!

Make sure you check out this Promotion that is going on right now and will end on December 16th. Check out my sidebar on the right hand side of my blog for a link to all the details. You will NOT want to miss these awesome savings!!

Now check out this awesome gift giving idea!! The current Simply Adorned Gift Bundle includes the Charming Stamp Set, 1" x 1 1/4" Charm and the 24" Necklace at a 20% discount. My sample here shows you the 1" x 1" Charm with a Vanilla Pearl 1/2". These inserts are so much fun to create and you can use anything you want!!! The Charming Stamp Set is just perfect for making the inserts but as you can see I used lots of other things too to make lots of them!!

The possibilities are endless!! You can even insert photos inside the charms too!! The biggest of the three charms (1 1/2" x 2") makes for awesome looking Christmas Ornaments too!!

Are these not the coolest things??!!?? I love that I can just whip up a different insert for whatever mood I am in or for whatever holiday it is.

Have a great day and don't forget if you want to take advantage of these awesome bundles head on over to my Online Store and place your order today!!

October 2007

I wanted to share with all of you our October Layout we did in my Scrapbooking Clubs in October. If you have been following my blog you know that for each month my Scrapbooking Clubs get to do a "monthly" layout. They are always really simple, one color and little embellishments. This is to show them they can put together a Year in Review album very quickly.

All my clubs this month LOVED this layout. We started with Basic Black Card Stock, Neutrals Patterns DSP, Wicked Cool & Dark & Dreary Stamp Sets, Sponges, Taffy Alphabet Stamp Set (now retired) and the Big Shot with the Spiker Web Textured Impressions Embossing Folder & Scallop Squares Duo Bigz Die.

Is that spider and spider web not scary!!??!! After cutting out the scallop square we ran it through the Big Shot using the Spider Web Embossing Folder. After that we used a sponge and sponged on Whisper White Craft Ink. Cool??!!

Have a great day!!

Stamping 411-Sketch Challenge #174

What a beautiful weekend we have in store for us in Southern Indiana!! I hope you all are enjoying a nice and sunny weekend!! But either way we have another great sketch for all of you over at the Stamping 411 Blog so lets get to it!!!

I just love the clean simple designs that our sketch mom's, Selene & Gretchen, give us each week.

I hope you all like my take on this weeks sketch!! I am just in love with our new Designer Fabric and find myself pulling it out for all kinds of projects!!!

For this card I used the Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP, Garden Green, Baja Breeze & Real Red Card Stock, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Waffle Paper, Silver Tinsel Trim, Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons, Candy Cane Rub-Ons, Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric, Dazzling Diamonds, Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set and the Big Shot with the Circles #2 Originals Die & the Scallop Circle #2 Bigz Die.

This new Tinsel Trim is just awesome!! This stuff contains wire and perfect for adding that extra touch to buttons and even sturdy enough to use for ornaments and project handles!!

Make sure you head on over to the Stamping 411 Blog to check out the other Operators and to play along with us!! We love seeing all the different creations everyone comes up with!!

Have a great day!!

We Have A Winner!!

I had my Downline Meeting last Saturday and we always have lots of fun!! Besides giving everyone updates about promotions, business tips, awards, a make'n take, snacks, swaps and so much more I always do a prize for those that actually take the time to come to the meetings. Each month who ever shows up gets their name into the drawing for a prize. This month I made this adorable Christmas framed piece of art and Shelly's name was drawn out. She just LOVED it but HATED me for making her pose with it!!! I made it the night before and did not have time to photograph it so I could show it off to all of you so I had her hold it up so I could snap a picture of it.

Doesn't she look so cute there holding her prize?!!?? Thanks Shelly for being such a great sport!!

I made this framed piece of art using one of our Decor Elements called Jingle All the Way in Real Red size small. I also used the Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP, Real Red 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons and Natural Hemp Twine. I also got the frame from Michael's when they have their frames on sale. This makes for a very inexpensive but awesome looking gift!!

Here is a close up picture of the frame. I do attach my bows with Mini Glue Dots but I then insert some Crystal Effects under the bow, place something heavy on it and let it dry overnight before messing with it. This makes for bows that DO NOT FALL OFF!!!

I also wanted to let you all know that Week #3 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas Newsletter went out yesterday. If you have not signed up for my newsletters it is never too late. Just click on the button on my left side bar to get registered.

As always if you have any questions please let me know and if you are interested in either purchasing any of the items that I show on my blog or if you would like to sign up to get a permanent discount on all your Stampin' Up! products and be part of an awesome TEAM just visit my Online Website HERE. My Recruiter Authorization Password is: mycraftyworld

Thanks and have a great day!!

Trick-or-Treat Box

I wanted to share with all of you a project we made in my Stamping Club this month. I have one club that likes to do Scrapbooking one month and then do a 3D project, card and one 12x12 layout the next month. They like to change things up and that is fine with me!!

I found this adorable box on the Stampin' Up! Website and just by eyeballing it I came up with my own measurements and on how to put the box together. I will work on a tutorial for this project and post it soon.

I did use the Nite Owl DSP, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black & Old Olive Card Stock, Spooky Night Rub-ons, Raven 1/2" Lace Trim, Scallop Border Punch, Sticky Strip and the Crop-A-Dile.

I thought this would make for a fun treat box for teachers or special visitors on Halloween night. Fill with your favorite candies, small gift or even money!! The possibilities are endless.

Thanks for stopping by and I promise to have the tutorial posted soon!!

Have a great day!!

Spooky

Happy Monday to all of you out there!! With another week of October under our belts we are just that much closer to Halloween and my baby boys birthday!! Yep, my middle child, Griffen, was born eleven years ago this Halloween. I guess this is why Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (because I know it is not the dressing up part that I like!!).

Check out this LAYOUT I did last month for Stamping 411? I love that you can take an easy "sketch", just change the colors & pictures and you have a totally different layout.

Not sure about Scrapbooking? Don't know where to start? Or you just don't think you have the time to Scrapbook? Check out a new monthly feature that I am doing on the Stamping 411 Blog on the first Wednesday of each month that is all about Scrapbooking 101.

For this layout I used the Wicked Fun Specialty DSP, Old Olive, Basic Black & Rich Razzleberry Card Stock, Natural Twine, Brights & Neutrals Designer Buttons, Bitty Bat, Mini Oval, 1/2" Circle & Decorative Label Punches, Wicked Cool Stamp Set and the Big Shot with the Alphabet Simple Letters Bigz Dies & the Spider Web Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Are those spooky eyeballs not the coolest thing?? Too fun!!!

I hope you liked my Spooky Halloween Layout and make sure you check out my new monthly feature that posts on the Stamping 411 Blog each month. Scrapbooking can me so much fun and rewarding!!

Have a great day!!

UDI Saturday Sketch #105

Happy Saturday everyone!! I have another great Sketch Challenge for all of you from the UDI Saturday Sketch Team. This one was a little tough for me but I had two things I wanted to use on this card and went from there.

I knew I wanted to use the Basic Black 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and the stamp set called French Foliage. From there I pulled out the brand new Color Coach and came up with an awesome looking color combo of Basic Black, Baja Breeze & Cherry Cobbler. What do you think? I wasn't feeling it but after I got it all together I do love how it turned out!!

I also used the Newsprint DSP, Jewelry Tag & Scallop Border Punches, the stamp set called Thankful For, Natural Twine, Vintage Trinkets, Neutrals Designer Buttons and the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Make sure you hop on over to Carol's Blog to check out her creation using this UDI Saturday Sketch #105.

Have a great day!!