Rockin' Birthday

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!