Stamping in the Arctic

Bright Hopes for Christmas

2011-12-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

This card was a stamp-a-stack, I used different layouts, but the same focus middle. I used Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green for this one, and the big shot embossing envelope Final Press for texture. On the next one I used a Cherry Cobbler scallop dots ribbon too, that dressed it up a lot. To get the center piece this way, you have to use the Top Note Die, and turn it so that it lines up with the short side to cut the square.

On another note, my ds has pneumonia, and missed the last week of school, and finals. He is sick, but also sick and tired of being sick. I am grateful that we have Christmas break for him to rest and get better. I plan on posting more, but for today time to get organized. I am taking a lot of my stamps and converting them to the clear mount, because of space. What a time consuming ordeal! It will be nice when I get done though.
In the meantime, Happy Stampin'!

Busy Fall!

2011-12-04T00:12:00.001-08:00

We survived the start of High School for my DS, football and almost wrestling season, the beginning of Girl Scouts, Battle of the Books, Halloween, and Thanksgiving! I am just now coming up for breath- kind of! I have many awesome cards to show you, really I do. I just haven't gotten them uploaded until now.

Even more first Birthday

2011-09-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

,

The ribbon wreath was an experiment, that turned out really well. We started with a floral foam wreath form, and the ribbon was looped and pinned in. These banners were made using the big shot and cricut mostly, and lots of Stampin' Up paper : ) the one banner with the pictures was made using a picture of the baby each month including the 12 month picture that really shows how much she grew and changed over the first year. So much fun having a crafty sister.

More pretty pink birthday party!

2011-09-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

These are more of the really beautiful, very pink birthday party my niece had this summer. Her cake had ladybugs on it, and the frosting was amazingly detailed, the daisies even sparkled.

First Birthday Cakes

2011-09-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

My niece had her first birthday this summer, and my sister and I had fun decorating for it. My sister is very talented, and went all out and I will share some of the other decorations in future posts. The birthday girl had her own cake of course, these were for the other kids, each fit into a "cupcake wrapper" that looked like little crowns, of course we had to decorate them too.

Congratulations Graduate!

2011-05-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of the 12 Graduation cards I made last weekend- all different! The sentiment is my favorite graduation stamp though. Black, Whisper White, and Silver look so sharp together. It also uses the graduation hat from the set, Go Graduate.

Fast and Fabulous Birthday Card

2011-05-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! This card was made with Stampin' Up's set Fast and Fabulous. I have always been a sucker for flower sets! I really like the new colorful buttons this year. I used my new Watercolor Wonder crayons, that we waited for soooo long to get after the color renovation in August! This reminds me of spring and color, something we are just starting to dream of up here in the Arctic. We do have snowbirds again, and they sing a lot in the morning. I walk to work everyday, and it's always nice to hear as I go! I also used the Big Shot, Top Note Die, which still continues to be one of my favorites!

Have a Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Friend's Birthday

2011-04-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have so many projects to post, but it seems I don't get them on here as often as I should. On the other hand I don't get to stamp as often as I should either! I am posting this for Marilyn, she will recognize this stamp set. I made this a while back for a stamping friend's birthday. I used the "rock and roll" technique, where I stamped the larger flowers in the Tangerine Tango, and then rolled just the edges in the red to create a two color effect. It would work good with a yellow/orange or pink/red or lt blue/darker blue...you get the idea. I would love to see what you do with the idea! Hope it inspires!

Mr. Nibbles

2011-04-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

In January, we walked into one of my friend's classrooms, and "surprise" her guinea pig had babies over night! They were so little and cute, mama was very protective of us trying to look at them even from outside the cage! As a result, my daughter was promised one, and we adopted "Mr. Nibbles" .
He is a beautiful animal. He lives in my Kindergarten classroom since we have a Jack Russell Terrier at home. I just call him Nibbles which makes my DD remind me his name is MISTER Nibbles....lol! He gets excited and jumps for joy when the kids come in the room, and he "talks" a lot by chirping and squeaking! What a character! He loves apples and carrots a lot, and becomes quite the beggar if he sees the refrigerator door open! Stay tuned for cuteness as he grows!

busy winter!

2011-04-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had a busy winter here for sure! This is a picture of the sun coming back to the top of the world where we are. I have stamped a lot, and I will post more of those this week!

Hope whoever is watching out there enjoys this picture. We have over 12 hours of light constant now. If you are out there visiting my blog leave a comment so I know someone is watching...

Birthday for DS

2011-01-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

I love Cherry Cobbler paper! I think it looks sharp with black and white. I embossed the black from the wheel, Decor. I punched it out and mounted it on a piece of Cherry Cobbler punched from the Extra Large Curly Label punch with a silver brad in the middle. My DS turned 14, and that's always when I think....what won't be to babyish or too old? ... he seemed to like this just fine. He likes to read about castles, and battles, and most of my books now. His favorites this last year have been the Rick Riordan series, Percy Jackson, and The Lost Hero, and The Red Pyramid. I hope he comes out with some new ones soon.

Teacher gifts

2010-12-23T12:35:00.001-08:00

It has been a whirlwind around here! I am back to posting though. I am making things for the kids' teachers-my son has 6 being in middle school. Anyhow, I am so glad we are on Christmas break now! I used the mini matchbox to make earring boxes for my two teacher aides and my daughters' teacher's wife who helps out in her class. I forgot to take pictures of the earrings! lol! I used the Big Shot box Fancy Favor to make these boxes, and the sentiment... having a hard time even finding that stamp at the moment! Hoping it didn't get scooped up into a treat bag!

Elements of Style Birthday

2010-10-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is the Birthday card I made for my mom. I used one of the recordable sound cards that SU sells and the kids sang "Happy Birthday", it was very cute! I used the Top Note Die with the Big Shot, twice, and trimmed the white at the perforated edge, and layered on the Choc. Chip one to make a frame. I love these colors, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, and Pear Pizzaz. I used the lid of the Marina Mist basic ink pad, and a aqua painter to water color the flowers with since we don't have the Watercolor Wonder crayons in this color yet. I used the markers on the happy birthday sentiment. This is from the set Perfect Punches. I didn't notice this set at first when the catalog came out, but then a friend of mine showed me some cards she made- wow! Each sentiment can be punched with the punches we have. My mom has humming birds she feeds year round. This reminded me of her!

New Blog look, and Fang-tastic 2

2010-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

I changed my blog look, to reflect the Arctic right now. We have had snow already for a few weeks. I am ready to hibernate! This is another card made with this cute set for Halloween. Can you believe it's right around the corner? I used Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant for the backgrounds, and More Mustard punched out for the moon, sponged with more of More Mustard to give it dimension. The bats were stamped on the moon, and colored with watercolor pencils and smoothed with blender pens, same as the Count. I cut him out and glued him on. The night sky is stippled with Elegant Eggplant too. It seems like there's never enough time to make and send out cards! I am looking forward to the time change soon. It seems like I can't get caught up on sleep and work at the same time. I have been wiped out! I love this time of year. Let me know how you like the new look.

Friends Never Fade2

2010-10-03T01:12:00.001-07:00

We almost made this card at my August stamp party, but we already made one with this set, and one with Just Believe, shown on an older post here. I love the rich colors. This card was pretty easy to make. I used Greenhouse Gala patterned paper to help offset the stamped image. These two coordinate really well. This card a few of the new colors. For the card base I used Cherry Cobbler randomly stamped with the flower image from that set with Cherry Cobbler ink to make a background, then I layered a band of Daffodil Delight, and on that placed a strip of Greenhouse Gala patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment, with Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock, and colored in the flower with Marina Mist, and So Saffron markers. I also carefully colored the letters with the So Saffron marker, then layered it with Daffodil Delight, and Cherry Cobbler paper.
We have snow already, and it was only Sept. when it came. I always get excited about the first snow, but now I just am thinking what a long winter it could be. I should just go take my vitamin D- and stamp something else!

Fang-tastic 1

2010-10-01T01:23:00.000-07:00

This set is fun. I am usually not one to do witches for Halloween, but I loved the vampire and the cat...too cute! I have made several different cards from this set already. I used Tangerine Tango, and Daffodil Delight, and sponged the moon with More Mustard to give it more character. I used the Basic Black for the sky, and craft white for the stars. I used the colored pencils and blender pens to color the witch, cat, and broom. Then I used the oval scallop punch and the oval punch for the sentiment. Hope you like it! I think it should say Witch way is the chocolate? Don't you?

Birthday Bakery

2010-09-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

I used French Filigree and Birthday Bakery to make this Birthday card, for my friend. I usually watercolor black line stamps, but I used my colored pencils and blender pens instead this time. Color papers were Cherry Cobbler, and So Saffron. Can you tell I am liking those right now. I promise more colors next time. I've been working on some fall and Halloween ones. Stay tuned!

Pretty Pattern Thanks

2010-09-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hope you are having a great weekend. Nothing like a bit of stamping on Saturday! I am so not done yet today. When I got this background stamp Pretty Pattern I had to try it out right away. I made this simple card using Cherry Cobbler and whisper white. It doesn't come out that way in the picture, but it's bright and clean looking. Happy stampin'

Day of Gratitude 1

2010-09-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am home for a short time today, as I am taking my DS to the hospital. He's got the sore throat, can't hardly swallow, and high fever... but I am excited about this set! It has some really strong lines. I used Cajun Craze and Pear Pizazz mostly. I used the 1 inch circle punch to punch out the middle of the main image in this set. It's attached with dimensionals to raise it up, as well as the sentiment. I punched the sentiment out with the new extra large decorative label punch from the new mini catalog. I am such a sucker for punches! I used the Cajun Craze ink on the Cajun Craze paper to create the border around the edge, and then paper pierced a line between the image and the sentiment. Looking forward to playing with this set more.
Have a good one!

One year now

2010-09-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

One of the best things we did was get our puppy Cooper. He has been with us a year now, and it has been a wonderful year with him. He has added a lot of love and joy to our family. It takes a lot of time and understanding to raise a puppy, but worth it. He is so intelligent, and has quite a personality. He loves to snuggle with us at the end of the day. Going to snuggle with the dog, blanket, and a good book.

2010-09-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Love this set! This is the other one that jumped out at me when I first saw the new catalog. It's called Just Believe. I used the Pear Pizazz, Marina Mist, and Rich Razzleberry card stock and ink, along with the new Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I think this is my favorite embossing folder right now, it's so bold and classy! We added the new adhesive rhinestones to accent the flowers. Hope you like it as much as I do ; )

We are supposed to get freezing rain tonight. I am not ready for it to be really cold, cool is more like fall. I am ready to curl up with a good book and blanket. I baked last night. Okay, maybe it's starting to be fall after all. (here anyhow)

Happy Stampin' until next time!

Friends Never Fade

2010-09-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

I promise I have been stamping, really I have. When I am not being a domestic engineer, teacher, or mom. Actually, the live football games have been great this year too. Our season is just about wrapped up due to incoming cold weather. My DS loved playing this year. It was good for him to be part of a team, and still assert himself.

Well, when I first saw the new catalog, a few sets jumped out at me. This is one of them. So, we made this at our first back from summer stamping class in Sept. It was great to get together and ink up some rubber and test those new colors! We used Daffodil Delight, and Cherry Cobbler, with Pear Pizazz to create this card. We also used the new embossing folder and the Big Shot to emboss the strip across the middle. It's a clever idea I have seen on other posts that really adds a lot of dimension to a project. We actually used Real Red ink on the flowers, because the Cherry Cobbler ink on white looked too dark compared to the paper. This was a better match.

Check back later for more from this event!

different blog design

2010-09-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a beautiful day! I changed my blog design. I loved the spring/summer look- but here in Alaska it is already fall. We are getting it the full swing of school, and I had my first Stampin' group. We have really pretty sunrises and sunsets right now- even a few clear days with out clouds. I'll post what we made this afternoon. I am really loving the color renovation now.

Wild Baby card

2010-08-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

This card was made for a baby shower, I loved the swirls on this background stamp, I think it really dresses it up. For this card I used, So Saffron, which I think is a really good baby card color, then I used Dusty Durango for the background stamp French Filligree. The lion is from the retired set In the Wild. I really like that set still. My standard "go-to" for baby cards is to use the giraffe from that set- when the gender is unknown. So this was a bit stepping out for me. Let me know what you think.

Happy First Day!

2010-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of School! Yahoo! Actually, summer seemed short but it's time to start back to school for us. I made this, inspired by my friend Marilyn. Thanks Marilyn- So, we have a good friend who taught Kindergarten with us last year, that is still at our school, but teaching in a different hallway, and grade level this year- this is a surprise for her. Hopefully she's not peeking, if so, well she'll know I was thinking about her last night and thought it would be fun to wish her a fun first day in her new class! She's awesome!

sad and thoughtful

2010-08-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

We traveled back to Barrow Friday night. It is always quite the trip. We were tired and ready for some down time, when we realized we had no hot water. So, the next day DH tried to fix it, several different ways and trips out to the only builder store in our area here. Finally we had to just replace it. We got the last one they had. Along the way, one of our friend's flagged us down and told us about our son's close friend who had died in a boating accident the evening before. It was so shocking, and sad. He was such a good friend to our family and our son. They're 13, and have been in class since first grade. Both boys were getting ready to have birthdays next month, but he won't get to start 8th grade. School starts for the rest of his classmates next week, and he will be greatly missed. I will miss his big smile, and his sense of humor. I will miss walking in the door on Friday afternoons from a long week of working with kids to the sounds of shouts and gunshots, having my son and his two friends shooting "Nazi Zombies" on his Xbox. Then they'd stay over and go fencing with us the next day. I feel for his parents, and sisters and brothers. I feel for my son, who's really missing him everytime he goes out to the school for football practice, and when school starts, and during PE and Band that they had together every day. I am sad that he barely got to live life, I am glad that he seemed to do everything to the fullest, and genuinely enjoyed life. He believed in God, so I have comfort knowing he is in Heaven. But, for those of us left here, especially the people he laughed with every single day, what a huge loss! Heaven must have been getting pretty dull, and needed a star like him.
This is the second close friend my son has lost tragically. I worry about him too.

I got to do some stamping too!

2010-08-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is a card I got to make this summer. It's a case from a talented demonstrator in Montana. It took some playing around with colors and since it's a two step stamping set, I really liked using the clear blocks to see where each stamp was positioned. I used Always Artichoke for the base, and Melon Mambo, and Daffodil Delight, for the flowers.

I miss my real flowers I had going in Montana. I did take some pictures of them though to tide me over. Usually there's tundra flowers here, but this year I don't see any. I can't imagine summer without flowers can you?

Baby Claire

2010-08-07T11:41:00.001-07:00

This is more of Claire's room. I love how my sister did the letters for her name, and the vinyl flowers and butterflies...so talented! What baby wouldn't want a beautiful room like this? We have traveled back to Alaska, all day yesterday. Boy! I am wiped out! That trip takes 16+ hours for us. We came from sunshine, to gray skies and sprinkling here. DH had to get the internet up and going again, plus our hot water heater is being difficult, so as I was getting off the plane thinking, "Oh, how great a nice hot shower will feel..." I was sadly mistaken. No hot water yet! I will miss my sister, brother in law, and my nephews, and my sweet baby niece! We got so busy packing that we didn't make it to the state fair this year. I really wish I would have had another day somehow- but next year we will make up for it!

Butterfly Mobile

2010-07-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

My sister created this mobile for Claire's room. She put beads that sparkle and cut out different size butterflies to hang from it on clear fishing line. It looks even better in real life. I just love her creativity!

I'm an Auntie again!

2010-07-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

My awesome Sister and wonderful Brother-in-Law have made me an Auntie again!
Her name is Claire Eloise. She is so beautiful, and tiny! She's a June baby, but she just came home a few days ago! So, if I'm not blogging... I'm holding the baby! My sister is so creative. She had the room ready for a while, except the letters for her name. I'll post pictures of the beautiful room tomorrow! For you Twilight fans out there, we went to see Eclipse yesterday. I could barely wait that long! I really liked it. It was entertaining to say the least. I really wish Steph would create an alternate ending for Bree though! I grew to like her from the short mini book.

Watercolor Trio thanks

2010-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this was a fun card to make. It has a lot of white, but lots of texture and layers! Of course, I used the Watercolor Trio from the Mini catalog. I just love the space saving that comes from the clear mount system.

I used, Old Olive, and Rose Red stamped off to create softer and bolder images.

Hope you are stamping too, after enjoying long summer days!

The Dog Days of Summer

2010-06-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

After a hard day of hiking, playing and helping us geocache... our favorite fur baby is kickin' back. Last night I loaded up my nephews and my kids, husband, and Cooper and we walked along the River Walk, it was all lit on either side of the trail, and there was live music as we walked. We saw the sun go down over the falls and it was still warm with very little bugs. We got to see Saturn in a telescope at the end of the walk. I just love summer! We are headed off to swim today. It's hot already at 8am almost 80...I love to read in between getting cooled off. I am reading the Charlaine Harris series. So much better than the HBO series. However, it has it's points too. I have some stampin' to share with you tomorrow, so come back and visit again! I'd love to hear what you are reading/doing this summer!

School years envelope scrapbook

2010-06-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is one of the huge undertakings I have been working on. When I first do something new, I always learn a lot and the next goes so much smoother! I am pleased with how this turned out. As I add pictures it will get more full. Each envelope is 9 x 11 1/2 . I covered chip board for the covers and scored them to get that edge you see in the front. I used my crop-a-dile to punch holes and a large piece of Choc. Chip grosgrain ribbon to bind it all together. The binding is not super tight because it will expand as things are added to the page fronts, and report cards, keepsakes and awards are placed in the envelope pockets. This one is for my son, and the next one is for my daughter. Hope you like it!

Summer vacation

2010-06-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like summer vacation! I love being able to be with my kids and focus on just being with them! We got a fire pit for our deck and are looking forward to making smores and stargazing around the fire. I just finished another huge project for DS I have to post. However, I have to make one for my DD as well...so stay tuned. I'll take pictures of that tomorrow. I have enjoyed having the time to make it, and I want to get my DD's done before school starts as well.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Birthday Butterfly

2010-05-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

Another day in Paradise.... the school year is officially over. Classrooms are quiet, and all our attentions are focused on Summer Vacation. Where to go, what to do? Hmmmm and packing on Mother's Day. This year we have our new little dog to take with us. It will be fun to experience, because he really isn't used to grass, or a fenced yard, much less the plane. We had our first run-in with a Vet we didn't like. Or, rather, she didn't seem to like dogs. Hopefully when he needs his shots again there will be a different traveling vet in town. For those of you who don't know, we "migrate"every summer to Montana from Alaska when the school year is over to visit our family, and to see trees, rivers, and warm sunshine again.

I used Pretty in Pink, Mellon Mambo, Whisper White, and Basic Black to make this, and also the "kissing technique" with water color wonder crayons and the aqua painter to make the butterfly. Hope you like it! Once we get internet situated- which we will have to because we have to watch the last of LOST, I'll have more to post.

Birthday Wishes

2010-04-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

I think sometimes masculine cards are the hardest for me to make. I reached to a retired set to make this. I also used my gel pens to accent it. I found out at the begining of the week that Brilliant Blue is one of the many blue colors Stampin' Up is retiring in July. I will miss the blues, and look forward to the new colors, and playing with the new combos that can be made. I am glad Stampin' Up gave us some time to plan ahead, instead of waiting until the time was right upon us to announce such a change. I am glad Baja Breeze is coming back. They are going to only have 45 colors in July instead of the 60 or so colors we have now. I will miss the range of purples too. It seems that the new colors are warmer and bolder than before. I wonder if it seems that way to anyone else out there? It was deffinately warmer here in our part of Alaska today. It was 16 degrees above zero with the sun shining and no wind. Our Jack Russell Terrier puppy, loved getting out and about, and it was warm enough that I didn't mind taking him! Most weekends this school year have been stormy and windy... it was quite a blessing to have a nice, pretty day and not be "stuck inside". I did do some other stamping, but I will post that next time, that way you have something to come back for! Happy Stamping!

Rockin' Birthday

2010-03-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Our family had the awful cough go through us, and it is just now that I am able to be caught up enough to start posting again! My son had a birthday for a friend this weekend. Teenagers are harder to make cards for I think. I am totally casing this from another SU demo though. I saw this and it jumped at me and said, "This is the card for your teenage son's birthday!" The technique is called the "bouncing brayer", because you ink up the brayer and "bounce it in a circle" to create the burst effect. I will have to play with it more to "perfect" it.

Stamps: Extreme Guitar, and Starring You, Spiral punch

Paper: Basic Black, Ballet Blue

Ink: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue

Lattice Die Thank You card

2010-02-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

I am excited to be back. This is a thank you card I made for a sweet lady who helped out with Brownie Scout day camp over Christmas vacation. I used Real Red, Basic Black, and Brushed Gold paper with the lattice die, and the new small Stampin' up punch and scallop edge punch.

Okay, so January was a bad posting month for me, it was busier than I ever imagined January being. My DD and I got really sick with a bad cough, that zapped my energy, and none of my responsibilities lessened up that's for sure! On a happy note, our sun came back on the 23rd, and now we get a little bit more each day. We still participated in Battle of the Books, which is an Alaska reading incentive and competition, to promote reading at each grade level. My DD's team tied with the grade above 4th, so they had to do a "sudden death elimination" round, and they lost by one answer, after 20 correct tied answers. I think that's pretty good for being a third grader reading 15 books by Jan. -most of them chapter books, and having to memorize titles, authors, and recall details in the books by memory! I love being part of that every year, it is so exciting.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

You may be wondering what I have been up to...besides blogging. I have been enjoying the Holidays with my family of course! Between Christmas programs, and birthdays, making cupcakes and cookies and teacher gifts...(I really wish I had taken pictures of those) testing and report cards...I got behind on posting. But, I have been stamping, creating a scrapbook from start to finish, and of course soaking up some rest and relaxation time. I love when the kids are home and I get to spend time with them. It seems that quite a bit is spent in the kitchen, maybe they are growing??? but it seems like they are always eating.

I am excited about Celebration or Saleabration what ever you want to call it! Stampin'Up is also adding unmounted stamp sets to it's catalog. For the longest time, locals here have been aware of the weight and space the wooden sets take up, so this is a very nice solution. I am looking forward to trying them myself to see if they are still the same high quality that I expect from Stampin' Up.

These are some examples of what I have been up to...if you have any questions, leave a comment, and I will get back to you! It's funny, I loved making all of these, but none of them were the card I mailed out to our family this year. I will post that one tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I am very thankful this season for my family, great friends, health and jobs (even if they seem stressful at times). I am thankful for being part of a wonderful church, which took us a while to find one we liked.

I am super thankful to be able to be creative when the mood strikes...and get motivated in that direction. This is one of the many Thanksgiving cards I sent out this year. I used three different sets (sorry). I used the Thankfulness Wheel, inked up in More mustard, then colored by marker to add different colors. The accorn came from the hostess set The More the Merrier, and the leaves making the background are from the set Autum Splendor. I used Dusty Durango, and Choc. Chip, and Close to Cocoa, and Crushed Curry cardstock, along with my scallop punches. It is hard to see, but I used Crystal Effects on the top of the accorn to give it more dimension. Hope you like it! I am grateful too, for my wonderful friends who come and get creative with me!

Birthday Cupcakes

2009-11-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

These birthday cards were made for a sweet girl we know. My DD and I had fun making them, using the big background size set from SU called Simple Birthday Thanks. We simply outlined the main image using a Stampin' Up marker, and left out the inside words. Then we cut it out and re-stamped the top on Pretty in Pink and cut that out, and Real Red for the Cherry on top. We used markers to color the sprinkles in, and Crystal Effects with Dazzling Diamonds to add dimension and sparkle.

The cupcake body is Creamy Caramel, and stamped with Background Basics to make the body not just solid. I made a faux button using my sm. flower punch and crystal effects with several layers of real red flowers stuck together, and the modern label punch for the birthday wishes on front. Hope you like it!

Falling Leaves

2009-11-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

I hope this Thanksgiving season finds you well and full of thanks. I know I am grateful for my family, and my wonderful job~I love teaching children, and I am blessed to be able to do something I love every day!

One thing I miss living up in the Arctic is, fall leaves. As a kid, my Grandma had a big tree in her front yard, and I was always fasinated by the way the leaves would change colors and float to the ground. I really liked this set that SU came up with and was experimenting with Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, and a hint of Old Olive. I used Crystal Effects to add depth to the acorns, it not only leaves it shiny, but a shade darker as well.

I have often said that Old Olive is my favorite green. That holds true, except for Christmas time. There is another green that SU carries that I think is more "Christmas" and "winter green". Can you guess which one it is?

I have been creating more than posting, and I need to catch up on that for you. Thanks for visiting my site, and I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hope you are having a Happy Halloween! We got to go trick-or-treat with some friends, which always makes it nicer-if you are out on a cold night! (We had a warmer Halloween this year 14degrees, however if the wind chill is also 14 degrees- does that make it zero?) Last year, the snow was blowing, and it was snowing, and seemed colder. So this was a nice change.

This card is made with the hostess set on Pumpkin Pie with the Polka Dot embossed to make a background. I also used, basic black, Old Olive, and embossed the pumpkins before watercoloring them, to help the color stay. Then I used the Modern Lable Punch for the saying. I have been trying to be good about not jumping straight to Christmas cards this year. However, I can't wait to start them, Thanksgiving first. I do love fall, but I also love Christmas, and it will be upon us so quick! Each day we loose 11min. and 40 sec. of daylight. After Thanksgiving we won't see the sun rise above the horrizon until around Jan. 21rst. again. From our Patch to yours, wherever you are- Happy Halloween. And if you have Fall leaves, and beautiful trees...enjoy them for me too!

Brower's in the Fall

2009-10-30T23:53:00.001-07:00

This is another card I made using the House of Haunts stamp set. I used Tangerine Tango, and basic black, mostly. I also embossed the house and masked the moon when I sponged the black to make the sky. I got to play with the Modern Lable Punch too. I really like this one, it's good for layering.

I don't post many pictures of my kiddos on line. However, this one is very funny. We took a walk as a family, on the beach and ended up at the whale bones behind Brower's Cafe. (They have amazing breakfast if you are ever up here) I didn't realize how funny it was until I looked aftewards at our tiny puppy and the giant bones!

Yes, these are whale jaw bones, and also the frame for a skin boat next to it, and yes, that's my DD with her parka barely on even though there are patches of frost on the ground. From the resturant, we have a beautiful view of the ocean. I am glad we took that time, because it snowed soon after, and seems to be here to stay for a while. Possibly until May... our daylight is getting shorter.

Halloween Fun

2009-10-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

I really like my blog...but the first two times I tried to post this, it took so long, I gave up.

I have two photos for you this time, we'll see how that works. I used the SU set Pumpkin Patch for this card, and it was really fun to make. One of my friends came over to make Fall cards and it was a much needed break from all of the stress we have both been under. I used my favorite fall colors, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and even some Basic Black and Whisper White, although they are more universal colors and not limited to fall.

I really love Fall, it is one of my favorite times of the year. We made applesauce in my kindergarten class at school when we were learning about the letter Aa and doing some themed readings. It smelled like fall in my classroom! When I was growing up, my Grandma had an apple tree. She made the best applesauce and apple butter! Whenever I cook apples, I think of my dear Grandma, and miss her. It is wonderful to share the joy of cooking apples with small children though. They are always amazed at the process, and how it turns out.

This other picture is of my first Full Circle Farm order. We live up in Barrow, Alaska and for those of you that don't know where that is, it is above the Arctic Circle...so this was like Christmas for us having really fresh produce! Full Circle Farm is an organic farm growing amazing tasting fruits and vegetables! The best part is they have an agreement to ship up here, and it's less expensive than buying it from out local store. My DS who is a very picky eater was taste testing everything, even corn, mangos, and kiwi's.

Kind Thoughts

2009-10-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

This was made for a dear friend of mine who had surgery. I got to use the new Razzleberry paper! It is very yummy! I wish SU would just add a few colors, not take any away. This would be one of them. We don't have a color like this that stays in the catalog long term. I also used old olive, and some crystal effects with some dazzling diamonds for the berries. I love paper piercing, along with the scalloped edge on Old Olive paper. Next I used the large oval punch, and sponged the edges, so it's not so stark white. I hope my friend likes it!

I am so behind on posting, but I have had some crud that won't leave me. It's in my voice for lack of a better term, and it drains me. I used to spend a bit of time once the kids got in bed stamping, but now it's a race to see who can get in the bed first!

Two for one today!

2009-09-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so since I have been so excited about this stamp set from SU, I will show you another card today. Two for one! I used a simple color scheme, Real Red, Whisper White, and Basic Black. I forget sometimes what a nice almost elegant look these colors can be together. In fact, if it wasn't for my friend liking red, I may not have tried this combo for a while longer! Thanks!

SU Medallion

2009-09-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Love this stamp! It may just be one stamp...but there's so many possibilities! I made several so you may see some of those as time goes on. The first one was a emboss resisit. This was done with white ep and then sponged color over the top of the whisper white paper, and then wiped off the white ep- because it comes off when you rub it. The colors don't show up as good as I'd like, I used Night of Navy and Old Olive, but my camera is doing something funny with the lighting! I used a rhinestone in the center to set it off, and just about any sentiment could be added. Next, I'll show you one I made for my friend's birthday.

Nephew Presents

2009-09-19T23:23:00.001-07:00

When went out this summer, I had made these two cards for my youngest nephews. I just happened to have gift bags that matched pretty well too. I am

going to miss the Wild About You set, I really liked using it with the Inspired By Nature set like this. However, I can't take credit. It was a "cased card" I don't remember honestly where I saw it, but it was not an original idea to me. Of course I used one of my favorite colors, Old Olive, for the base, and Sarah Sand for the torn background.

The other card was my idea though. I used the Pun Fun stamp set along with the Star punch, and Staring You, on the Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango card stock. Can't wait to get in my room and make some new projects. Love the new cattalog, stay tuned for more coming soon-and Happy Stampin' .

Back at Last

2009-09-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am back at last. I didn't mean to take so much time off from blogging...but time seemed to be a blur. We went on our migratory trip down south for summer. (Yes, we are opposite), we are back in Barrow now, and we even have gotten the begining of school underway already.

Summer was full family, and full of on the go fun, water parks, camping at the lake, hiking, cannoeing, and campfires. We even got to visit some friends in Dillon and go on a raft/float trip down the Madison and Jefferson Rivers.

If you have followed my blog, you would know that we "dog set" last Christmas vacation for a teacher family who went off slope for vacation. That being said, the idea of having our own special little dog was born. We met a wonderful couple who breed dogs in Belgrade, MT. They were such helpful and warm people, we went back several times. The last time we went to visit, our DD picked out a puppy. He is about 8wks old now, and we are waiting to go get him. The kids can talk of nothing else, except the puppy even as sick as they were this week, they asked so many questions. Mostly they are just excited and can't wait. So here is our little bundle of love at about 4ks. old when his eyes just had opened. I would love to hear your idea on names!

walkin' on sunshine

2009-06-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to keep up with my blog lately. For those of you who know me, the kids are out of school, the sun is shining and even though I am stamping some, I will be taking a break from my blog until August.

Have fun in the sun, see you in August!

Fifth Ave. Floral

2009-05-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

This is such a fun embossing folder, and it coordinates with the Fifth Ave. Floral stamp set. I water colored the inside of the roses using Rose Red, and my aqua painter, after I embossed with the embossing folder and my Big Shot. I cut the roses out, and mounted them on Riding Hood Red paper and I used the new ribbon from SU to finish it off. This is so versatile, depending on the sentiment. I will wait to add that later. Hope you like it!

A bit distracted lately

2009-05-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a really long time since my last post. I am sorry for that, but life happens. I have had a bug that won't go away...and some major deadlines to meet at work, which has to come first of course. When those were done however, I confess I got majorly distracted from posting card and scrapbook creations. I saw Twilight on dvd. Let me first say, this is not my usual genre, vampires/ teen romance, but Wow! At first I thought oh, okay- a teen love story it could go 50/50, but as soon as the Cullens walked on to the screen I was hooked, knowing this was going to be fun. I was not dissapointed either. I appreciated the characters, and loved the scenery (I am up above the arctic circle- so no green or trees for me). I have been to Port Angeles and to these places it talked about, so it was fun that this would be the setting for a very good love story. So, that was just the begining. You know usually books are better than the movies because characters are more developed in a book than in a two hour movie. I was not able to get my hands on the book right away since we have no bookstores, and our library has only one copy of the series...so in my impatience I went to the author's site to find out more. I discovered a draft of Midnight Sun, which it Twilight from Edward's point of view. Which I promptly devoured. I enjoyed reading Twilight more after that, having understood it from a different viewpoint. Now that I have read all four books pluss this draft, I am really hoping she finishes Midnight Sun. I have read many reviews about this series and the movie, and I know I don't care what anyone says- it's an awesome fantasy. All four and a half books are page turners and for myself I am on my way to purchase the soundtrack. I liked all the characters, but I really enjoyed Jasper and Alice right next to Bella and Edward!

Surely I am not the only one!

Manly Birthday wishes

2009-04-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love these colors together? I used Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, and Sahara Sand to make the body of this card. Notice the card is crimped half way up? I needed a birthday card for my DS friend in less than an hour...so I got busy and this is what I came up with. Not bad for a quickie! I used small print backgrounds, and a Hero Arts happy birthday stamp. This is one of the first ever stamps I bought before I was a SU demonstrator- just for birthdays, so I tend to keep coming back to it. I used SU markers to get the two colors on the same image.

In other news I have been wanting to stamp a lot lately, but by the time I get home from work, I feel like the life has been sucked out of me lately. I am trying to rest and get my momentum back!

great friend

2009-04-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to ink this set up, but then had a hard time putting anything down...you know gluing it down to stay. Sometimes I get so picky and nothing seems good enough! So, for some reason this card took me a long time to make. Hopefully "stamper's block" is over! Now, I can think of a lot of different things I could do to the "next one". I used Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss, and of course basic black with whisper white. In the end, I liked it~ hope you do too!

Butterfly wishes

2009-03-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

TGIF! This week has been more trying than most. This card was made for our friend at work. It reminded me of the bright sweater she wears sometimes. I used Tangerine Tango, which I got this August. For some reason, it is a hard color for me to use because it is so bright. I hope she liked it. The sentiment was from the new SU set Simple Friendship. The butterfly was a loose stamp from the SU insentive sets for hosting a party that I give away as door prizes.

Until next time, Happy Stampin'.

My sunny color

2009-03-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this remind you of sunshine? So, I don't use yellow very much, but my DD was talking today about Lemon Challet Cream cookies and how "sunny" they made her feel, so this must be my sunny color right now. This is a catalog case- I just changed a few things, like the colors for one, and instead of a ribbon, I used a sentiment. This is one of the cards I made for my co-worker who is going through treatment for cancer. She is in our prayers.

Stamps: Pretty Amazing, Colors: So Saffron, Choc. Chip, Appricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, and River Rock for the leaves.

Flowers everywhere

2009-03-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

I love spring. It makes me think of flowers and growing things everywhere! However, here the sun is back, and it will be a while before we can see the tundra grass growing again. First we have to thaw out! However in an effort to teach Kindergarteners about life cycles and science, you have to have living things around, so I ordered lady bug larve and a butterfly kit, and some root view plant kits to help explain. My kids are so excited to go look at everything growing and changing! As a teacher, it is fun to watch them get excited too!

This was a card we made at one of my workshops, and the customers added their own sentiments, so mine is blank for demonstration purposes. The sparkles don't show up well, but we then versamarked the bloom and embossed with irridescent ice powder giving it a shimmery effect. Mine ended up being a "thinking about you" card.

Stamps: Bella Blossoms, which is on the dormant-but you can still order it, list with SU.

Colors: Old Olive, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy, and of course whisper white cardstock, the top note die, and the scallop edge punch.

Echoes of Kindness

2009-03-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

I really love this set. This was my first project with it, and I still think it may need something. Any suggestions? I used Old Olive, and Pink Piroutte, Riding Hood Red, and water colored with the wonderful water color crayons. The sentiment came from the retired hostess set, All the Best. I am trying to get some cards made ahead for those unexpected times when you just need a card now, but don't have time to make one.

Altered Clipboard, and Notebook with pen

2009-03-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

TGIF! This has been a wild week! Just before Christmas we had a secret buddy exchange, and this is what I made for mine. I used the Designer paper to cover a clipboard and a notebook with a matching pen. I used white craft ink and white EP with the image from Inspired by Nature. I love these colors! (Excuse the fingers, I had a hard time taking this picture before the exchange!) This was my first try at both of these items, and I think they turned out okay. I learned a lot doing them.

Fifth Ave. Floral 2

2009-02-28T00:46:00.000-08:00

I am really loving Fifth Ave. Floral! I can't wait for the embossing folder for this one! This was made using Rose Red paper and water color crayon, blended with the aqua painter, and Regal Rose SU paper, and the Top Note Die. This was a pretty simple card, not too tricked out with embellishments.

We can't seem to shake the bug at our house. Every time I think my DH and DS are better for a week or so, they seem to come down with it again. I go longer inbetween rounds than they do with this stuff. I am hoping to be over it this time! Wish me luck!

Until next time...

Arctic Fall

2009-02-22T19:31:00.001-08:00

It has been a very, very long time since I have done a scrapbook page, this takes place on the beaches of the Arctic in Sept. a few years ago, it was a warm day for here, very good memories. I will go back and figure out the best way to journal on these without cluttering them up. Sometimes simple is good. Up in the corner, is a shaker box with micro beads I made at a friend's house. I really like to scrapbook, it just seems like I got stopped and didn't know where to start again. I got more focused in the card making direction, now I am looking to balance both. However, this week is not a good example of that. I made 12 cards this week because someone at work was told they have cancer. I wanted to do something to cheer her up, so a friend and I made cards for everyone to sign over the weekend. I will post them over the next several posts. Each one is different, and had it's own style. Does anyone have any other good ideas to do to help someone fighting cancer? I would love to hear from you.

Celebration!

2009-02-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

It is time for Stampin' Up's once a year special rewards program called Celebration, or Saleabration... for every $50.00 you spend this month and through the end of March, you get to choose a free-bee from the Celebration mini catalog. There are 4 stamp sets, one ribbon bundle, and a patterned paper pack to choose from. These are some pictures of the sets and accessories available in the Celebration Catalog. Who doesn't want to earn free stamps? These are very versatile sets and are only available for these two months, then they're gone for good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day! I used the Love You Much SU set, and the retired background Soft Swirls. These colors are the Riding Hood Red and Pretty in Pink, and then Old Olive for the stem. I really love the Scallop Edge punch. It beats using the corner rounder over and over! It 's so much quicker! Hope your day is full of Love.

Happy Heart Day

2009-02-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

This is a card we made at my last get together. It uses the Happy Heart Day set, along with a retired background stamp. I used Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette for most of it, and I love the incolor ribbon! I embellished the flower of the heart using stickles this time. The mouse and heart are water colored using the water color wonder crayons.

This has been a cold week, we have been -40 to -60 below zero all week. Today is a warm day it's about -30, not counting wind chill which would put it way too cold again. The kids were home only one day though due to extreem temperatures.

It's been pretty with the sun coming back and reflecting off the snow, but it's the top of the world Alaska, the farthest north city in the U.S. so it is to be expected from time to time.

I'll post my other Valentines' card tomorrow for Valentine's of course! Hope you are staying warmer!

Fifth Ave. Floral Thank You

2009-02-09T01:35:00.001-08:00

I had several thank you cards to make this week, and this new set jumped out at me and begged to be inked up! What do you think? I used Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, and Old Olive ink, mounted on Baja Breeze in color paper.

I used the big oval punch and the SU set Best Yet, and Fifth Avenue Floral to make this.

Birthday card from a friend

2009-02-08T19:33:00.001-08:00

As promised this is the beautiful Birthday card that Michelle Force made for me! I love the way she used this set, and the colors. I haven't played with this set in a while, and I am going to have to ink it up and show it some attention! Of course it looks better in real life. She used the SU set, Think Happy Thoughts, Orchid Opulence, Green Galore, and So Saffron, embellished with a lavender brad. This was awesome Michelle! Thank you. You can check out her blog, look on the rt. side and click on michelleforceblogspot.

In other news, we've been trying to recover here. My DH seems to have been hit by the bug the hardest he, and DS both had fevers and aches for days...DD and I are just really drained, so this weekend has been full of sleep and stamping to get all of her Valentine's ready for this week. Not a bad weekend really, to be home bodies and rest. I can't remember when that has happened in a long time. I need to go finish my mannicotti for dinner.

Hope you've had a great week!

More mini Valentine's

2009-02-03T01:18:00.001-08:00

Don't you just love Valentine's Day coming up? We started off our morning with a fire drill, and it being colder than -20 degrees outside. Brrr! Doesn't even begin to describe it! Since our sun's come back...believe it or not, it is colder. The sun's been beautiful though, it's all worth it. Today, I got a wonderful surprise from a fellow blogger Michelle Force. I will get my camera working and share that with you tomorrow afternoon. We have our Battle of the Books competition tomorrow, of which I am one of the coaches for Kindergarten, First and Second grades. It's very exciting and competitive. Some teams winning by a question or a half of a question. Children read between 5-15 books and memorize the titles and authors, becoming "experts" on those books. Then, teams of three readers compete with one another to answer the most questions correctly about those books. It is just awesome to have so many children read all of the books this year! They are really all winners!

These are mini Valentine's (3x3) my DD and I made for fun, and for upcoming giving. We used Riding Hood Red, Real Red, Choc. Chip, and Regal Rose, Pixie Pink. We had fun with last year's Valentine bundle and this year's Love You Much SU sets.

For Fun 3x3 valentines

2009-01-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

These were two of the many designs my DD and I started to make for her class and mine for Valentine's Day. I can't bring myself to buy Valentine's anymore, except for my DS, that's a whole different story right now. It's more fun to make them for DD class anyhow, pluss is gives us some creative time together. I used the Love you much, and Always sets to do these two.

Valentine's box

2009-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, life gets in the way of posting once agian. But, it should be more regular after this. I really liked making this. This box was made using two die cut envelopes and a strip of regular paper, then decorated with the new Candy Cane Designer paper. I used the new 3 heart punch with the Love You Much stamp set from SU, and Pirouette Pink and Ridding Hood Red paper and inks. The new catalog is just like eye candy. I love all the colors and designs. This holds a fair amount of 3x3 cards and envelopes or a nice bag of candy with a pretty ribbon for a treat. If you have the envelope die from SU to use with the Big shot, this is pretty self explanitory. The solid strip that goes from the bottom and up the sides that you glue your tabs from the envelopes to, is 1-3/4"x 7-3/4" scored at 2-1/4" on each end. Once your box is made, then come around the front with a decorative strip measuring 2"x 10-1/2" and tape your scalloped edge down to embellish. Check back later this week to see some of the 3x3 Valentines my DD and I made to go in this.

Happy Stampin'!

Birthday Wishes

2009-01-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! I used the reliable, and beautiful Baroque Motifs SU set to make this birthday card. I used Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, and of course Whisper white to make this card. I also enhanced this with a bit of icecycle stickles. It is much more striking, and sparkles in real life. I made a book mark to go with this, but can't post it yet. I am still playing with the colors on my photo program, since it will be pink if I post it now!

Thank you card

2009-01-11T22:43:00.001-08:00

Well, we are starting to get our light back little by little. However, our temperature is another issue all together! Are you ready for this? It was -32 degrees today. Ouch!

The thank you card is made from the same set that I used for my blog candy give away. (I had two of them) So, since I I have a few thank you cards to make, I am getting on it. I used Pink Pirouette, and RidingHood Red, along with the SU scallop edge punch, and a felt flower from SU Accents and Elements. Hope most of you are warmer than we are in Barrow! Soak up the sun for us wherever you are.

I have a winner!

2009-01-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Beth is the winner of the blog candy give away. Congratulations Beth! Thank you all for your sweet comments. I will be in touch to get your prize to you Beth.

Today's post is a card I made last night playing around with Valentine's ideas. I have made a few cards with this tree set that is getting ready to retire on the 18th! I love this set, I hope it makes it into the big catalog. It's called Season of Friendship, and I used the smallest heart from the new SU heart punch from the Love You Much bundle.

Colors: Choc. Chip, Regal Rose, Riding Hood Red, Certianly Celery, and the striped in-color ribbon with the top-note die.

Thanks for playing blog candy give away with me!

: ) Darleia

Children's Church project

2009-01-07T00:32:00.001-08:00

I know Christmas is over, but some projects were just made to be shared. We made this with 14 children in our Kids Nite Our ministry, before Christmas, when we read the story about the birth of Jesus. As a kid growing up, my favorite ornament to put on the tree every year was a nativity ornament, and I still have it to this day. This set reminded me of that ornament.

I need to add a back of some kind to help it stand up on a shelf. Here on this one, I used my SU markers to color the image, and after that dried good, I used some crystal effects to add some depth. This is a set that is retiring on the 18th to make room for new stamps. There are always so many wonderful Christmas sets, that has to be my weakness! I love Christmas time, the whole idea of getting to spend so much time home with the kids and doing so many things we don't seem to have time enough to do. (and to stamp too!) It's nice to re-focus and decide to make time on a regular basis for those things in the New Year. We are not looking forward to our vacation coming to a close, getting back into the routine, from the sound of it, we've had more time off than most people we know.

Don't forget to go to my Jan. 3rd post to enter for blog candy I'll draw on Saturday the 10th of Jan.

Blog Candy

2009-01-03T21:58:00.001-08:00

Finally! I got my blog candy together! To enter to win, you need to comment on this post. You win the pictured Stampin' Up hostess set "For a Friend", new and unmounted in the clear plastic case, and the paper pieces and the cut ribbon pictured. I will draw the winner next Saturday, Jan. 10th. Thank you for all your support in the blogging world this year!

I used the Bella Blossoms stamp set for this card, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, and the top note die as the foundation for this card. I stamped the big blossom in Pink Pirouette, and rocked it in the Riding Hood Red, then used the Old Olive marker to color the stem before stamping the main image. After the main image was stamped, I used versa mark and irridesent ice embossing powder to add "sparkle" to the blossom. Hope you like it! I can see this done in many colors ; )

Happy Stamping.

Birthday

2009-01-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for Michelle's birthday, but since it was my birthday just before New Years, I thought I'd post it for mine too. It uses the True Friend set. I used the Rock and Roll technique on the flowers, and some paper piercing, and sponging around edges. You may recognize the stem and leaves from the In the Spotlight set. I am bummed about some of the retiring sets. I will be having a 'retirement party' in January to celebrate the old retiring and the new valentine bundle!

I promised blog candy for my Birthday, and I am getting it together, to photograph later today. Thanks for being patient!

Sets: SU True Friends, In the Spotlight, Happy Birthday.

Colors: Only Orange, Rose Red, Old Olive.

Celebration rub on, and retired Happy Birthday set in Choc. Chip.

Up close Christmas cards

2008-12-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here's an up close look at the cards. I have a really nice camera...but for some reason my pictures to post don't turn out as good as when I used the old camera. Any tips out there?

Happy Monday

Darleia

Snow Swirled Christmas Cards this year

2008-12-29T15:02:00.001-08:00

This year even though I had fun making projects with other stamp sets, I made 48 of these to send to famliy and friends that are all over the country. My DH liked the simple lines, and the red and green Christmas colors. My DD helped with the sparkle red stickles on the trees that give them the extra little touch they needed. I used Riding Hood red, and Garden Green, along with brushed gold SU paper.

I have blog candy to give away...but I don't seem to have much activity on my site, to know who would be interested anyhow. So, if you are out there let me know and I'll post some. Otherwise, I'll just assume I am doing this for my DS in Montana.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hope you are having a very Merry Christmas! We love having a white Christmas. We are dog setting for some friends while they are gone for two weeks. We love having Daisy- and will be sad when she goes home!

This is another snowflake card, Interestingly enough, these are not the cards I sent out this year. I'll post those tomorrow. This is a card I made when I was playing around with Ridinghood Red, and Kiwi Kiss. I used last year's Celebration Scalloped set, along with the big die cut snowflake from Stampin' up on the Big Shot. I hope your holidays are filled with cheer and a very happy New Year!

More snowflake cards

2008-12-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the snowflakes! Here's a double post for today. I can't wait to do a scrapbook page with this. This time I used the Pacific point, and dazzling diamonds with a craft white embossed Merry Christmas. In the hustle and bustle of the season, I am missing my embossing buddy. My DH had some interesting questions about what exactly I was looking for when I was announcing that it was missing. It's a good thing we haven't lost our sence of humor!

Red and Gold snowflake

2008-12-21T15:46:00.001-08:00

Wow! I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted. I have been stamping in the wee hours of the morning as life has been incredibly busy, along with some major computer issues. Hopefully I am back! I am excited about Christmas, I still have to make my Christmas cards... so they may come a few days later than usual this time!

I used the Riding Hood Red, and the versamark on the retired wheel with a gold embossed image from Punches Three. It's simple and fun for the season.

Big Snowflake

2008-11-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

I finally got my big Shot big snowflake! I love it, of course, what's not to love about Big Shot?

This was made using Baja Breeze, I know I've used this color a lot lately-but it's beautiful! The center is a filigree and rhinestone brad. It looks way better in real life.

The sentiment is from the Country Living kit, and embossed with white ep using craft ink.

This was a simple and clean card without a lot of layers. Can you imagine this in red? Hmmm. I can! Have a great day!

Upsy Daisy 2

2008-11-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! We had a fun Halloween, now I am taking time to post a birthday card I made with the awesome set Upsy Daisy... Here I used the new In Colors Baja Breeze and Pacific Point, with Chocolate Chip. I used a flower slider from the Hodgepodge Elements, and sprinkled blue glitter from the SU glitter collection in it. I also used the set Live Your Dream for the sentiment, then I sponged the edges to create that "finished look". Hope you like it!

Batty for You

2008-10-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hello! It 's been a wild week or two, we've been fighting sicknesses and then had Parent Teacher conferences for several days, but I've been fitting in a bit of stamping here and there when I can. These are some Halloween treats my DD and I made for her class. She is very excited about them, of course I think she snuck a few on the side : ) I hope they like them. It's about time to start making Christmas cards!

Recipe: Batty For You, circle punch, scallop punch. Used paper and ink, Only Orange, Tempting Torquoise, Real Read, Lovely Lilac.

Season of Friendship

2008-10-20T23:49:00.001-07:00

I love this set. I am so excited about finding this in the mini! I missed getting Three Trees a long time ago when it came out, and always wished I had, until now. I actually like this one better. I couldn't wait to ink it up. It is a very easy to use set too-it comes die cut, and then it can be used in so many different ways... hoping the Birthday person will like this, meaning I will have to make another one for myself soon before I can give it away.

Recipe: Stamps Season of Friendship, Upsy DaisySU paper Really Rust, Baja Breeze, Whisper White.SU markers for the leaves, Really Rust, More Mustard, Old Olive.

Tree: SU classic pad Close to Cocoa, then scalloped edges with the long scallop punch, ticket corner, large oval punch, sentiment and bird stamped in Baja Breeze.

House of Haunts

2008-10-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were little and you thought there was some house by you that was really creepy? I remember being scared when I had to walk from the bus stop and go by it! My imagination ran wild! I liked this set when I saw it, so I had to make a couple of Halloween cards with it. I used Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, and whisper white paper.

To create the background I punched a circle out, to mask off the moon. Then I sponged the sky with Elegant Eggplant. After the sky was taken care of, I went back and watercolored the moon yellow and orange. Happy Stampin'

Happy Halloween Spiders

2008-10-13T01:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Fall! To start the week off, this is a picture of what I've been up to lately, besides cleaning and disinfecting...it seems like one of us gets this cold/flu/fever stuff, toughs it out, and gets to feeling better and then another of us starts feeling awful. It's like we are all just passing it around or something. I've cleaned so much the last week my kids are "Oh no, here comes Mom with the lysol!". I guess it could be much worse though. Some of the kids at school are having the stomach or intestinal flu...at least that's not us!

So, I used the Top Note Die from SU in Tango Tangerine, folded over to make the topper, along with my scallop punch, the photo corner punch and the two other smaller circle punches for the eyes.

It was kind of tricky to get a good picture of them. These are going in the mail to my nephews for Halloween. (And one is going to our dear friend Allie, because I know she'll see them.) Have an awesome fall day!

Thinking of you

2008-10-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

This is a fall friendship card I made using the Top Note Die. Love the Big Shot! How did I live without this Top Note before? We have snow now! Barrow looks normal for this time of year finally. We spend all weekend at the dentist, so even though I made projects in the wee hours of the night, nothing got posted for world card making day. We all had clean bills of health though, and that was worth it. I used the new Ridinghood Red and Kiwi colors for this card with creamy carmel in the back.

Have a great Tuesday!

In the Stars Birthday

2008-10-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

I made this card for my DS on his 12th birthday. We had so much fun, I am still recovering! I used the new Baja Breeze, Choc. Chip, and Old Olive on Very Vanilla. I enjoyed playing with my large and small star punches too!

Stamp sets: In the Stars, Celebrate, and the Classic Stars jumbo wheel.

Wonderful Bag!

2008-09-22T00:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Laurie had a get together where we made the most wonderful bags! Can't you just imagine this with a pound of chocolate in it? I originally made it thinking I could give it away as a gift, but now I will just need to make another one before I can gift this one away! I like how we used the tab punch for this too. I've been discovering many new uses for that punch lately. We used Choc. Chip and Vanilla for colors and antique brass jumbo eyeletts. Have a great Monday!

Happiness Always-thank you

2008-09-08T07:45:00.001-07:00

Our weekend was good, just action packed as usual. This was a thank you card I made when I first got this set using the new In Colors Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss, along with some Summer Sun, and the hostess set Happiness Always. I used and layered several punched pieces to dress up the sentiment. I was happy with the way it turned out.

At first, I thought I wouldn't like the red much, but it turns out that it goes with many of the Fall color schemes I've been working on lately very well. Have a great Monday!

Upsy Daisy Birthday

2008-09-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I told you I love the Top Note die, now that the Big Shot is a Stampin' Up item! I finally got to post a card I made for my husband's aunt, who is having a birthday. I hope she likes this. I used the new Tangerine Tango and the background Spotted, pluss designer paper in the wild wasabi and the WW in color double stitched ribbon. I used the Summer Sun and edged it with the Red Riding Hood Red, and the new in color green for the "Birthday Celebrations". It was a fun one to make getting to play with new things!

We are all starting to get colds, and slow waaaay down at my house. Even my husband who is normally healthy as a horse, was the first one to get this! I feel like a nurse somedays doling out vitamins and cough drops to the kids before school!

Polar Bears out our front door!

2008-09-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I had to get my Kindergarten class started, and my own kiddos off to a good start this year, so I haven't gotten to take pictures of the cards I've made. I actually have made some projects I'm excited about. I received my Big Shot, and love the Top Note Die! Actually there's nothing about it that I don't like! It makes even using the cuttlebug embossing folders much easier!

This young polar bear was swimming in the lagoon in front of my house last Saturday...the wildlife officials hung out for over eight hours in front of my house too, before the bear wandered off without bothering anyone late in the evening. What a treat! Kind of scary too, one has never been this close before!

Forget Me Nots

2008-08-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

I have missed blogging, but as we are back to work getting ready for the new school year, I find that there are never enough hours in the day. I am glad to be getting ready, but am trying to keep my own family happy as well. The kids are excited to start school again next week! Where did summer go???

This was a card I made playing around with the Bodacious Boquet, and the Embrace Life set. I thought it was fitting since our Alaska State flower is the Forget-Me-Not, and three of my dear friends moved from the Slope this Summer. I know we'll stay good friends, but I miss them, maybe they'll even read this, and know I am thinking about them as they start new chapters in their lives. We all need to Embrace Life when good things come!

Quick Birthday card

2008-08-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

This was a really quick birthday card, for a friend of my son's, who is a girl, but doesn't like much "girly" stuff. I think this worked out okay. It was a good excuse to check out my new In Colors, while I was still trying to make heads or tails of my house (haven't been home long from traveling for almost two months!). I used the SU set "It's Your Birthday", don't know what I would do without having to make birthday cards! : ) Every year I say, "I am going to make up some cards ahead of time for those last minute birthdays that pop up." Every year I do, but it seems more crop up than the year before. Guess that's a good excuse to stamp a little bit more!

What do you think?

Back Home

2008-08-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

We are back home from a much needed and deserved trip! Time to get back to normal, and good to be back. I jumped back in the first three days to do a Girl Scout day camp when I came in. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get to rest from the three days of flying it took to get back here in Alaska.

Apparently, while I was gone Stampin' Up added lots of wonderful things! Today in the middle of my DD having a ear ache, mountians of laundry, and runs to the post office, the Fed-Ex man visited me with goodies. I can't wait to get started! I love the new In-Colors, and can't wait until my Big Shot comes in. Stampin' Up has new Big Shot dies made specifically for Stampin' Up. I am excited about this addition to Stampin' Up's line of products.

Recharging Our Batteries

2008-07-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been scrapping or stamping for a while. We have been traveling and recharging our batteries. My Dad had a stroke in CA, so we are spending family time. He is doing fine now, we are grateful that we were planning a trip out of Alaska anyhow, and that he is alive and doing well. We found a beautiful uncrowded beach at Crystal Cove State Park, and spent time "thawing out" from being up in Barrow. The kids loved the beach using their boogie boards and playing in the sand. I'll be home soon : )

First Spring Solitude

2008-06-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have been busy with the kids being out of school - summer reading program, dd learning how to knit, playing at parks, swimming, and spring cleaning, so in the evenings I've been feeling pretty wiped out lately. We are all caught up on our LOST, and are wading through long downloads to watch season 4. I love all the scenery too, the beaches, even the green in the jungle! It's worth watching if you never have yet, and most of the libraries even have the first three seasons to rent.

Anyhow, the retirement list is out on the Stampin' Up website. We can order until Aug. 10th. So double check your wish lists! Let me know if you need anything.

I finally inked up the Hostess set Spring Solitude, and this is my first go round with it. Can you believe at first I wasn't going to get this set, the fact that the wheel came with it is what sold me on it. Now I am glad I got it. I love all the cards I've seen other people doing with this set. I used Tempting Turquoise, and Cameo Coral, with some Stickles in the centers of the flowers. I wanted to see how close I could get to a one-layer card and have it still look okay. I think I did it, now I can play more with layers and textures...and punches! Yahoo. I will play with this some more...'Till next time...

Happy Father's Day Build-a-Brad

2008-06-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is similar to one I posted recently, but this time my daughter and I broke out the "build-a-brads" boy was she excited. We used SU set All Holidays, paper and ink colors: Really Rust, Choc. Chip, and textured Wild Wasabi, the crimping tool for the Choc. Chip to add even more texture, and for the designer paper in the build-a-brads we used the East Coast Prep. I sponged some River Rock on the designer paper to take the "brightness" of it down a notch, because the sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla. It blends well in real life. : ) So, I guess the question would be which one do you like best, the Build-a-Brads or the jumbo eyeletts that look like rivits?

On the Brighter Side...

2008-06-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is a "sunnier" post. I was up at 1 am doing that last one, could you tell? So, I am posting two in one day- exciting isn't it?

Well, have you ever had a real, true friend you could be yourself with? You know not the kind that are only friends when it is easy? I've been thinking a lot about friendship lately- I've been blessed with some wonderful people in my life, and then dissapointed too, at times. I guess that's what makes us treasure our real friends so much! One of my best friends, I've known since the first day of our freshman year of HS. We've been through boyfriends, husbands, pregancies, (moves to the ends of the Earth-on my part), and various career choices...like the time I went into the Air Force. (It was really a great experience, I'd do over - especially if I was 21 again!) One of our latest, best memories was making snacks, loading up all the kids with sleeping bags, and driving out to see a 'drive in movie', (those are hard to find). We had so much fun. Friends, I think, are one of the ways God takes care of us, and what a joy friendship can be! My DH surprised me and said we are going to be able to visit her this summer. I am really looking forward to it! : )

Card recipe: SU So Saffron base, Cameo Coral, and Choc. Chip for layers, SU Stitched background stamped using More Mustard, and embossed. The flower is a stamp called Gerbera Daisy that I picked up at Memory Trails last summer. I "rocked" it in the Purely Pomegranite to give it a "boost" on the edges. I used stickles in the middle, and the butterfly from Kind Thoughts, was stamped in Pumpkin Pie, and edged in Purely Pomegranite ink, and the Cameo Coral was paper pierced on top and bottom strip. The sentiment is from Fundamenal Phrases, and wide grossgrain ribbon was added to finish it.