Stamper Shirley

Lots going on ....

2011-10-06T16:42:00.002-04:00

Just a short note to my friends who check in every so often to see what I have been creating and posting .... I have had my hands full lately with my husband in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks then passing away one week ago. During that time we had a flood in our home so I have been living in a hotel so am not able to have my creative outlet - will be back as soon as possible. May God bless each and everyone of you - hold your loved ones close and take this extra opportunity to tell them you love them again - and again - and again. Hugs, Shirley

2011-09-10T00:21:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's been almost a month since I have posted here ... just chalk it up to life - that's all I can say. I will try to do better ....

This is our first Blog Hop for our newly created yahoo group, SUStampingBlogHops. Our home page will be our first stop today -- if you did not start there, you can find it here: Hopping Just for the Fun of it -- you may have started here with me, or maybe you came here from my stamping friend Angela's blog at Life with a Wiener Dog ... and your next stop is Carmen at The Creative Stamptuary - she is a new stamper to me and has some great ideas! A complete listing is at the bottom of this post so come on back here or to our home page ( Hopping Just for the Fun of it ) if you get lost or if any links are not working.

This has been a hard week on us .... my husband had surgery on Tuesday, was supposed to come home Tuesday/maybe Wednesday and had another surgery on Friday and we are praying he does not need a third surgery today. Needless to say, this has been a very long week and I just did not get things done as I would have liked, but I hope you enjoy my projects .... I had fun making them and am soooo glad I made them early! Hope I remember this every month .... This first project came from a friend who sent them to me to possibly use for a Christmas cookie exchange party .... she said she got it from someone else who got the idea from someone else .... lol ... so I went investigating and found the template by Debbie Martin on her Dec 21, 2010 post at cleverandcute.blogspot.com . I hope everyone realized that few of us have the creativity to start from scratch, and it is perfectly o.k. to C.A.S.E. (Copy And Case Everything) .... and it is also good to give credit when we can.

I used a retired Christmas DSP along with Wild Wasabi c/s - because I have some retired Wasabi ribbon to use!! Some of you will remember that I love Wild Wasabi and use it often! The stamp set is Tags Till Christmas, which has some really good images for Christmastime! Each person attending our exchange will get one of these aprons with all the recipes in the pocket! Sounds like I might need to get some help making them, huh. My second project is the one that did not get completely finished to show - I need to buy some more York Peppermints to insert in the pockets formed by folding up the c/s - I went wild and gave one whole bag of candy away at the hospital this week with these. After receiving one in the mail from a friend, I again went searching and found it online by Laura Zaraza at laurastamps.com (on Dec. 19, 2010) and she named them Tip Treats -- the idea is to put your tip inside along with the candy when you leave a tip. I have been using them (without the tip, lol) to give to people as an Intentional Act of Kindness ... kinda like Random Acts of Kindness but with an intentional purpose! I have been paying for the vehicle behind me in drive-thru's, buying balloons for kids, etc and I am having so much fun with this, thanx to Family Life Radio (myflr.org) for the idea!!

I used several colors of cardstock, ribbons and a bunch of retired stamp set images ... I stamped them and have been coloring them while sitting around and waiting at the hospital - needless to say, a lot of people in the hospital have been enjoying a little treat! Please leave a comment and let me know how you will use one or both of these ideas - and one of you will win your own sample of each project! I hope you have enjoyed my post and I know you will have a wonderful time on the rest of your Blog Hop journey. See you next month for another hop, and back here soon, and encourage me to post more regularly!! ~~~ God Bless, Shirley Here is the complete listing of stops for your convenience ... hope my links work, if not, please copy and paste - you'll be glad you did!

00 start Hopping Just for the Fun of it

1 Bluegrass Stamper Studio

2 Life with a Wiener Dog

3 Stamper Shirley

4 The Creative Stamptuary

5 Stampin' and Scrappin' News

6 Stamin Ldyglfr62

7 RaissaStamps

8 Stampin' Fevre

9 My Little Patch of Dirt

10 InkPaperStamps

11 Scrappy Stamps and Ink

12 Stamping with Janice

13 Technostamper

14 My Creative Impressions

15 Pretty Inky

16 Artful Imagination

17 The Love of Stamping

plus one add on blog for your enjoyment .... Stamping Trails

Holiday Blog Hop Time

2011-09-10T00:01:00.004-04:00

Wow, it's been almost a month since I have posted here ... just chalk it up to life - that's all I can say.

This is our first Blog Hop for our newly created yahoo group, SUStampingBlogHops (open to everyone who wants to have fun with blog hops.) Our home page will be our first stop today -- if you did not start there, you can find it here: Hopping Just for the Fun of it -- you may have started here with me, or maybe you came here from my stamping friend Angela;s blog at Life with a Wiener Dog ... and your next stop is Carmen at The Creative Stamptuary - she is a new stamper to me and has some great ideas! A complete listing is at the bottom of this post so come on back here or to our home page ( Hopping Just for the Fun of it ) if you get lost or if any links are not working.

This first project came from a friend who sent them to me to possibly use for a Christmas cookie exchange party .... she said she got it from someone else who got the idea from someone else .... lol ... so I went investigating and found the template by Debbie Martin on her Dec 21, 2010 post at cleverandcute.blogspot.com . I hope everyone realized that few of us have the creativity to start from scratch, and it is perfectly o.k. to C.A.S.E. (Copy And Case Everything) .... and it is also good to give credit when we can.

My second project is the one that did not get completely finished to show - I need to buy some more York Peppermints to insert in the pockets formed by folding up the c/s - I went wild and gave one whole bag of candy away at the hospital this week with these. After receiving one in the mail from a friend, I again went searching and found it online by Laura Zaraza at laurastamps.com (on Dec. 19, 2010) and she named them Tip Treats -- the idea is to put your tip inside along with the candy when you leave a tip. I have been using them (without the tip, lol) to give to people as an Intentional Act of Kindness ... kinda like Random Acts of Kindness but with an intentional purpose! I have been paying for the vehicle behind me in drive-thru's, buying balloons for kids, etc and I am having so much fun with this, thanx to Family Life Radio (myflr.org) for the idea!!

Please leave a comment and let me know how you will use one or both of these ideas - and one of you will win your own sample of each project!

I hope you have enjoyed my post and I know you will have a wonderful time on the rest of your Blog Hop journey. See you next month for another hop, and back here soon, and encourage me to post more regularly!!

~~~ God Bless, Shirley

Here is the complete listing of stops for your convenience ... hope my links work, if not, please copy and paste - you'll be glad you did!

00 start Hopping Just for the Fun of it

1 Bluegrass Stamper Studio

2 Life with a Wiener Dog

3 Stamper Shirley

4 The Creative Stamptuary

5 Stampin' and Scrappin' News

6 Stamin Ldyglfr62

7 RaissaStamps

8 Stampin' Fevre

9 My Little Patch of Dirt

10 InkPaperStamps

11 Scrappy Stamps and Ink

12 Stamping with Janice

13 Technostamper

14 My Creative Impressions

15 Pretty Inky

16 Artful Imagination

17 The Love of Stamping

plus three more add on blogs links ....

Stamping Trails

A Touch of SOL

www.kraftingwithkaren.blogspot.com

Tea Bag Folding Ornament, Part 1

2011-08-17T00:48:00.000-04:00

We have a winner .... my blog candy will go to Nichole, who will be receiving my Flower Pots card. Congrats, Nichole - watch for your card ... and I want to sincerely thank everyone so much for visiting my blog over the weekend and posting comments. You will never know how much I appreciate your kind remarks.

And on to today's post ... I taught a couple classes last week at VC Rocks, helping the gals learn how to make their own Tea Bag Folding Ornaments ... I am having so much fun making these things - they're soooo addictive (seems like every time I start making something, I can't stop - until something else takes it's place. Right now, it's these ornaments and a couple other things, which will be in future posts (after I teach another class), so stay tuned.

I really need to get to bed now, but I will be posting some directions on making these star ornaments later .... I just wanted to share a couple pix with you for tonight. Hope you get excited to make your own soon.

Take care and God Bless, Shirley

Let's all get Punchy!!

2011-08-12T23:47:00.002-04:00

Today is our last official VC_Rocks Blog Hop for this session of our group. It is always such fun to renew freindships and make new ones - everyone is so much fun! I always go thru a period of withdrawal after we close up shop - wow, next week! Oh no ...

You may have arrived here from Debbie's Blog - www.cleverandcute.blogspot.com - she always has such cute stuff. Remember, if you get lost along the way on this Hop, you can always go back to our home base - www.vcrocks.blogspot.com

Our theme for this Blog Hop is Punches - somewhere, we are to use our Stampin' Up! Punches on our cards, projects, etc.

My first card was cased - can't remember where I saw it first a couple years ago, but I made a note to make it someday - and .... today is someday!

Here's the recipe, the directions are quite simple and you can figure that out. I used: Round Tab Punch; 1 1/4" Round Punch; Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Old Olive cardstock; Signo Gel Pen I had some green ribbon with stripes down the side but it wasn't the right green so I made my own with the white gel pen - I also made the dots in the center of the flower with the gel pen. Hope you like it - it's sitting here on my desk with the petals wide open today - thank you, sunshine, for touching my flower.

My second card was a fun one - as you undoubtedly know by now, I do love my punches, so for this card, I used a bunch of them!

What fun to make this card! I can't remember all the sizes of round punches I used - I started out with the 2 1/2" Round Punch for the body and went from there ... also: Ticket Corner Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch for the hands and feet and Natural Twine for the tail. If you want the exact sizes, I can measure the circles and let you know - just send me an email to stampershirley@gmail.com and I will get back with you.

My last card is a simple one but I always forget to use my Pocket Silhouettes stamp set and this was perfect for this. A friend sent me a card similar so I changed the colors and made my own.

I used the (retired) Designer Label Punch for the flower pots and cut them down a bit on the ends. The colors I used are Not Quite Navy, More Mustard and Chocolate Chip; also, Natural Hemp Twine on the middle pot. So simple and perfect for a flower-loving friend of mine - hope she likes it.

So that is my take on the Punches theme - hope you enjoyed your stop here and here's your next stop .... Ellen's wonderful Blog - she's the Punch Queen, by the way and you can find her at www,blinkthinkink.blogspot.com - and our home base is www.vcrocks.blogspot.com

Have an awesome day, tell me which card is your favorite and I will draw from the entries and you will receive that card. Just leave a comment by Tuesday, August 16th.

Hugs and may God Bless you, Shirley

Bows, Bows, and more Bows

2011-08-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

What fun it is to make these bows!! My good friend Shari taught me how to make them and now I can't stop! I did change my directions a bit to make a fuller bow - hers were more like flowers but I wanted bows. You know me, I have to change things once I follow directions. I even had to buy a bigger tote to hold them all .... but won't they look wonderful on my packages! I've made way over 30 so far ... and now I need to make a bunch for Christmas. Just so you know, I used retired Stampin' Up! DSP for all my bows - another great way to use up that big box of retired SU papers!!

They are so easy too - but be warned, making them are addicting!!

Materials: Glue Dots or Dimensionals; SNAIL Adhesive; Sticky Strip and/or Glue Dots, Brads; 1/16" Circle Punch; 6" x 12" piece Double Sided DSP’’

Cut DSP as follows: Cut into three pieces, each 4”x6”. Cut two of those pieces into strips 1”x6”, giving you 8 strips. On the last large piece, cut 1” off the short end, giving you a 1”x4” strip.Cut the remainder into four strips, 1”x5”. You should now have:1 strip 1”x4”, 8 strips 1”x6”, 4 strips 1”x5”.

Put four of the 1”x6” strips facing the same pattern up. Put adhesive on one end of each. Twist each piece into a loop, attaching one end of a strip to the other side of the other end ... like if you put an "A" on one end and a "B" on the other side of the other end, then twist and adhere "A" to "B" .... like this:

Hope this picture helps - sometimes the twisting doesn't look right, so I undo and re-loop, so play with it. Also, I have found where you put the ends together makes a difference in how your bow looks, so experiment.

Do the same for 3 more of your longer strips, then punch a hole in the bottom of each loop and attach the four together with a brad or with some SNAIL to hold them in position. Repeat the above steps with the other 4 strips of 1"x6", but flip the papers over first to show the other pattern. Note: I punch my hole near the edge on the first group, a bit farther up on the next group of 4 loops and a little farther up on the other group of loops - this helps them to next a bit easier.

Add a few Glue Dots or some Sticky Strip to the inside of the two bows and adhere together, altering the direction of the loops. Make a smaller bow with all 4 of the 1”x5” strips, putting your favorite pattern on the inside. Punch holes and add brad. Add Glue Dots or Sticky Strip as before, working the bows together - it's a tight squeeze .... Roll the 1”x4” into a circle loop with your favorite side out. Adhere with Sticky Strip in the center.

And there's your bow ... now wasn't that fun??!!! Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer. My email is stampershirley@gmail.com .... so send me pix of your bows!!

Another option: If you look closely at the turquoise and gray bow at the top of the picture, you will see that I used all one side for the longer loops, then the other side for the 1"x5" loops.

And here's another picture - I don't particularly like the other side of this retired paper, so I made the whole bow with one side of the DSP. And it's Christmas paper (well, snowflakes are close enough!)

Hope and pray you are well, and your family also. My hubby had two procedures done yesterday now he sees another doctor next week to see when the next surgery is, as they had to wait for these results. We would appreciate your prayers and kind thoughts as we go thru all this.

Not sure I will get a post done for tomorrow, so be sure to come back on Saturday for our last (boo hoo) BLOG HOP for the year ... maybe I better find another group to hop with monthly so I post more often, huh!

God Bless and have a most excellent day!! Enjoy your creative side every day!

Hugs, Sassy Shirley

Lattice Folding is Fun!!

2011-08-08T17:20:00.000-04:00

Hello on Monday ... I have been busy making some things, so hopefully I will have time this week to get some new posts for you. My hubby has a surgical procedure on Wednesday so I will be taking care of him that day and making him comfortable and feeling loved. That's my job, you know, and I do love it!

Today's post is 3 Lattice Folding cards ... my friend Robin did an online class on how to do them but I just couldn't get my cards to look as great as hers, so I went back to my old faithful way. I will keep trying, Robin - it's me, not you .... hope you enjoy these cards.

These are so easy when you do it this way ... if you have some Stampin' Up! Grid Paper, cut a section measuring 5" by 3 3/4". This is the measurement for my cards because I matted them before attaching to the card. If you don't want to mat, then cut accordingly to your card size. If you don't have this paper, use graph paper or make a template - the squares are 1/4" apart. On one edge of your template, draw a line from the first line diagonally to the 3rd square, then from the next square, draw a line diagonally to the 2nd square. Repeat in this order down the page until you run out of squares. Fold your template and your cardstock or designer paper in half, making sure you have a nice crisp fold - use your bone folder!! Insert your unfolded edge of your paper inside your template folded edge and cut on the lines - how simple! Make sure you are cutting the lines on the fold of your cardstock or designer paper. The grid paper makes this soooo easy.

When you are done cutting, unfold your paper and fold every other triangle up, continuing to the bottom.

You will want to cut the top one off completely, saving it to attach to the bottom area.

Tuck each corner under the next corner ... does that make any sense at all? It will when you make your Lattice Folding card!!

This next card was made with Vellum and I added a strip of red and a strip of black underneath for a different effect, also adding a couple of black and red brads to the corners.

If you have any questions, just ask and I will try to answer. I am not the best teacher but I do love to play!! I have seen cards that cut every other square (every 1/2" instead of 1/4") so you have bigger triangles and not as many. I purposefully did not add embellishments or sentiments to the cards so you can see their beauty, but you can add whatever you want, wherever you want on your own cards. Oh yeah, I almost forgot .... you can tape up the cut marks on your grid paper and reuse - over and over if you want! lol

There are a lot of variations to this card - I hope you enjoyed this little lesson - please share your Lattice Folding cards with me at stampershirley@gmail.com .... I will post all the cards here at a later date and I will draw a name from all the cards in my inbox by this Friday nite, August 12th and that person will receive a little something from me.

And guess what .... this weekend is our next (and last) VC Blog Hop!! Trust me, you will NOT want to miss it - some awesome ideas will be waiting for you on Saturday morning.

Until next time, have fun being creative, take care and

God Bless you, Shirley

Baby Boy

2011-07-14T22:05:00.000-04:00

Hello on Thursday evening ... I just got home from a very enjoyable evening listening to a large group of high schoolers playing fiddles at our Summer Concert Series at the Amphitheater - it was so nice to spend a few hours outside in this beautiful weather.

Tonight I am sharing a card I made for my beautician who had a baby boy recently - I will see her tomorrow for the first time since and wanted to take her a cute card .... so I came up with this one. It uses several retired products - but the cardstock is current SU - Bashful Blue and Whisper White. The paper is called Splash and retired back in 2006 ... remember, I am NOT a hoarder, just a saver ... the onesie stamp is from a 2004 stamp set (A Little Love). Sometimes the oldies are just the right stuff to use, but I am really loving so many of the new products in the new 2011-2012 Idea Book/Catalog!! And now, we are getting a hint from people at the Stampin' Up! Convention of some awesome new things .... can we all say WOW!

Anyway, hope you like this simple little card - I think I may make a few more in blue and pink .. and yellow and green ... to have on hand.

So for tonight, sleep tight and I will try to post again tomorrow.

God Bless, Shirley

Masculine Challenge cards

2011-07-12T05:03:00.011-04:00

Over at our VC Rocks group, we had another challenge (every week!!), and this week we were to make a masculine card, like a man would make for a man. I told Larry what I was going to do and he decided he should have a say in the stamps and colors ... he has always liked an older SU set called Artifacts and we chose Soft Suede as the base so we started there. This is the card we made ..... the supplies we used are the same as for the next card.

When I started to upload the pix to the group, I read all the details ... to punch it up a bit, we could make a fancy fold card, so after Larry went to bed, I made this one.

When I started to upload the pix to the group, I read all the details ... to punch it up a bit, we could make a fancy fold card, so after Larry went to bed, I made this one. Here are some other pix of this card with the directions ...

First, I cut the Soft Suede c/s: the base is 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" - score at 5 1/4:"; the inside folded part is 8 1/2" x 3 1/4" and scored at 4 1/4". I layered the inside part on black c/s cut 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" and I added a piece of Crumb Cake c/s 4"x3" for the writing. the other side of this flap (the top part of the smaller part (huh???) I layered Baja Breeze cut 4"x3 1/8", and top layer is Very Vanilla stamped with Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Basic Black images from the Artifacts stamp set, then sponged Soft Suede all over to make it 'dirtier', per the man in charge. The top flap of the larger piece is layered with Baja Breeze and some DSP I had that kinda goes with these colors - not exactly, but looks good.

So there is my Fancy Fold Masculine Card along with the regular folded Masculine Card for this Challenge ... hope you like them both.

Hugs and God Bless, Shirley

Monday Morning Moanings .... or not

2011-07-11T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well, it IS Monday morning, here in Michigan anyway. I said on Saturday that I will have another post on Monday, so here it is.

We had a great weekend - Saturday was my hubby's birthday so we went out to breakfast, met friends there ... went out to lunch with other friends, and out to supper with family. Didn't eat as much as we talked, thank goodness! Sunday was church then potluck picnic! Always, always fun and loaded with yummy food. Got home from that and needed a nap, or at least a rest-time. And now another week begins, filled with appointments, fun times, a little work around the house and who knows what else.

Since we had ABC (Anything But a Card) as our VC Blog Hop theme over the weekend, I have a couple other ideas to share, so here is today's ....

I just love, love, love to alter tins (like from Altoids, but you can buy them to alter) ... the options available are as big as your imagination - you should see what kids come up with! Here are just a few I have made that I found sitting on my shelf. I made a new one for a swap but it has not been delivered yet so I will wait on it until everyone has seen their box of ideas - Gifts for a Dollar was that theme. These tins are yet another super way to use up bits of designer paper and odds and ends of embellishments .... 'cause, anything goes with these!!!

Here are two up-close so you can see some details. No big deal, really, but I know it's hard to see in the other pix. Depending on the tin, I sometimes add grosgrain ribbon around the outside edge on the lid - it's just the right size width!! - but depending on the color of the tin, you may want to love it as it is.

The fun part after altering the outside is deciding what to do with the inside - some I have added mini-office supplies (stapler and extra staples, scissors, binder clips, pen, pencil, tape dispenser, paper clips ... all small sizes of course.) Some I cut pieces to fit inside and hooked them together using ribbons or twill tape, brads, etc. and use them as scrapbooks or to hold kind and gentle thoughts to help you get thru the day. And of course, the ever popular Gift Cards just fit inside!! Some I leave empty so the recipient can add what they want - little kids love them for "stuff" - funny thing, I used to ask everyone for empty boxes but I could not speak very well yet, so always said 'hempty' boxes ... my family still teases me about that! Come to think of it, I still love boxes of all sorts - and my stamp room and the rest of the house look like it too.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I have mentioned it before (or if you even believe it), but I am not a hoarder, just a pack rat with loads of items just waiting to be used and altered and such.

Hope you enjoy this idea - try it and I really would love to see what you come up with. Like I said, I will have a post later with my swap samples and then all the samples I receive - I did two sets, so should have 10 additional "Gifts for a Dollar" to show you!

Have a great day and may God Bless You and Yours! Hugs, Shirley

Hey, Today is ABC day

2011-07-09T14:04:00.000-04:00

Today is our VC Blog Hop and I am stop #13 .... lucky thirteen out of a total of 35 stops plus one post on our home page, so be sure to visit there on your hop!! Our theme this month is ABC - Anything But a Card, so the field is wide open and I know the gals have some terrific samples to show you! And I think everyone keeps their Blog Hop up for Saturday and Sunday, so you don't have to do it all in one day - and after Sunday, you can always find today's date for their hop post!

Now, you may have arrived here at my blog from the multi-talented Sharon Field's blog at http://createdbyu.blogspot.com - or maybe you are one of my friends who likes to check in to see if I have posted anything lately - and if I haven't, you hassle me a bit! All in good fun, of course, because I am always slacking off on my posting here. At any time during your hopping from blog to blog, you can go to our VC Rocks home page at http://vcrocks.blogspot.com/ and get a complete listing of all the bloggers this month.

Just a personal note: if you haven't seen Friday's post from me, check it out - I really would love to hear what you think of this technique.

The first thing I will post today are candles - I had a few of these candles left after an event I decorated for, and have been wondering what to do with them. I remembered doing this several years ago so thought I would try it again. PLEASE DO NOT BURN THESE CANDLES if you decide to do this yourself.

First you stamp on tissue paper, tearing it around the image works better than straight cutting lines, place on candle and holding in place, apply heat with your Heating Tool just enough to melt the wax to hold the tissue paper in all areas, but not so much that the wax runs down the candle ... tricky sometimes. I used my Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy stamp set and markers. The only difficult one was the dark candle - I tried 3 times before I finally got it right, or as right as it is going to be. I lightly inked it in pink, stamped on the tissue paper then filled in the flower images with White Gel Pen. Looks like I wanted it to, but the white never has dried and I made these weeks ago. lol Oh well, it looks good on the shelf along with the other two!

Supply List: Upsy Daisy stamp set; markers: Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red; Signo Gel Pen; tissue paper, Heat Tool

The next project is a new one to me that I made with a group, but I thought it is so cute so I am sharing with you. It is a really different small Scrapbook idea and should really be embellished inside with flat objects and not bumpy ones - you'll see why in a later pix. This is a great way to use up some retired cardstock and designer papers!

Opened up this way, it looks quite 'normal' ... but wait until the next pix .....

Now you see the difference, huh! I used a 12x12 sheet of cardstock, scored at 3 inches on all sides. Then on one side only, cut thru 3 squares, leaving the 4th square attached. The next block of squares, turn it around and cut thru the 3 blocks, leaving the end one attached, and then flip it around again and cut thru 3 blocks of squares. Hope that makes sense, but I am attaching a pix of the pattern. Before you attach the cardstock on the back, add a length of ribbon to the last folded square - I used a piece about 18-20 inches long - so you can tie it up. When unfolded, you have 16 squares on each side! Then after you add pix, writings or whatever, it all folds back together, tie it up and give it or keep it for yourself. If you have a lot of grandchildren like I do, it is great in your purse with all the pictures of those precious little (and big) ones!!

As always, cut on the solid lines, score on the dotted ...... let me know if this is not clear as mud!

Supply List: papers and colors of your choice, I used Confetti White, Rose Red, retired Apricot Appeal and Soft Sky; misc retired designer papers; White and Apricot Grosgrain ribbons; misc stamp sets for words, Paper Cutter for measuring, scoring and cutting

Tune in Monday for another Anything But a Card idea from me, but for now ... I have noticed that Angela's blog is not updated as of now, so your next stop is Veronica Miller's blog at http://bluegrassstamperstudio.blogspot.com And remember, if you get lost on our blog hop, just go back to our VC home page (http://vcrocks.blogspot.com/) and find your next stop! Sometimes we have our post ready and set it to automatically post at a certain time and day and guess what, it doesn't happen! So that is why you may find a blog not ready for this hop on that day.

Take care, check back and keep me on my toes about posting here much more regularly (hey, it's not like I don't stamp something most days and have boxes and boxes of samples I could post!!!) and have loads of fun on the rest of your hopping fun!! God Bless, Shirley

Black Beauty

2011-07-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Greetings on a Friday - hurray for the weekend!! This has been a busy week (aren't they all - for all of us??!!) so this will be quick. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our VC Blog Hop where you can visit a whole bunch of blogs and see what we have been up to.

Here's a card I love to make - can be a bit messy (or is that just me??), but such beautiful results can happen with different colors. Let me know which you prefer and I will send one of you that card along with a blank one for you to finish as you like.

These cards were done with the same color markers but using either black or vanilla embossing powder - what a difference in the "pop" of the colors.After the marker colors dry a bit, you will see that the color on the embossed parts fades away, leaving the cardstock colored parts showing. Hope that makes sense ... you will want to softly wipe with a tissue after they dry before you send them or your recipient may get other colors on their hands!

For these cards, I used retired products - Lovely Lilac c/s and the markers are Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst (miss that color!!), Orchid Opulence, YoYo Yellow and (non-retired) Always Artichoke. I used Mellow Moss for the Black but Always Artichoke for the Vanilla as the other colors were too dark or not dark enough, I thought.

For this card, I used current SU colors: Rich Razzleberry c/s with these markers: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum, Daffodil Delight and I did use Always Artichoke for both cards.

I added this pix so you can see the shine from the embossing powder as the other pix didn't show it. I added retired Lovely Lilac Grosgrain and a sentiment using a couple SU Oval Punches.

Send me pix if you try this yourself (at stampershirley@gmail.com) - experiment with your colors and have fun!! This is my fave background stamp to use for this, but SU has and has had many stamps that would work - I still like to use Stipple Rose too. And no, I am not a hoarder, just a pack rat!! After all, if I would have gotten rid of all my retired In-Color ink pads, I would have had to purchase some of them again after they came back in the line-up! See, I saved money ....

See you right back here tomorrow!! Come prepared to get excited and enthused with all the creations!!

Hugs, and God Bless you all, Shirley

June Blog Hop is here!!

2011-06-11T00:02:00.018-04:00

Welcome to my little corner of the world ... here we go again - it's time for our June VC_Rocks Blog Hop - I am so glad you stopped by to visit for a bit. You probably came here from Angela Walters' blog "Life With a Weiner Dog" at www.lifewithaweinerdog.com Our "VC Rocks Home Page" is http://vcrocks.blogspot.com so anytime you get lost or if a blog doesn't come up, you can go there and find the complete listing of 32 blogs. Be sure to check them all out.

I do need to apologize - last month I offered Blog Candy of one of the cards I posted - I forgot to tell everyone who won: it is Carolyn Sharkas - I will get her card in the mail early next week .... promise. We had some family emergencies along with company and being gone from home a lot this past month so that's my excuse/reason but I am so sorry to not have taken care of this before.

Our theme this month is the Big Shot Madness ..... I thought I would not be able to join in the fun this month since I have resisted buying the Big Shot (so far, but I think I will be getting it soon ... all these projects on the blogs are great!!) I am hosting a swap for the Big Shot - I know that will push me over the edge!!Anyway, my dear friend Shari embossed some cardstock for me so I could be a part of this blog hop - isn't she sweet?!!! Thank you so much, Shari!!

My projects this month are quite simple due to the fact I didn't have much to work with, but I made these two cards using those embossed sheets. Hope you enjoy them! As always, supplies are all from Stampin' Up!

For this card, I used Rich Razzleberry (another of my fave colors!) and Whisper White cardstock. The front piece was embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder - this will certainly be on my first order when I get the Big Shot! I used Upsy Daisy Stamp Set and stamped it in Versamark, then embossed with white Embossing Powder. Then I stamped the same stamp, inked it up with Rich Razzleberry, stamped on Whisper White Cardstock, embossed with Clear Embossing Powder for some shine and cut out the top part, positioning that piece on top of the white embossed image with just a but of the white showing for a shadow effect. I then used a sponge and Rich Razzleberry Ink Pad to color 2 Paper Daisies (oops, guess this shape is retired) and attached a flat back Pearl in the center.

This card uses the same colors but after stamping Upsy Daisy flowers in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White cardstock and again embossing with Clear Embossing Powder, I used the Scallop Trim Border Punch on the bottom in both Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. I reached into my box of retired SU! Ribbons for the Polka Dot Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain. I do love some of the retired (and soon to be retired) ribbons Stampin' Up! has had in the past. I punched out 3 flowers from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, added brads that were silver, I added several layers of versamark, Rich Razzleberry ink and Clear Embossing Powder to get some color on them (I don't have any Rich Razzleberry Brads left after making some swap cards). I stamped the Hello from Tiny Tags Stamp Set and added a brad to it too.

Again, I hope you have enjoyed your short stop at my Blog - it tends to be lonely as life gets hectic sometimes, so I am so glad to have these Blog Hops during the Summer, but I will try to be more regular about posting in the future.

Your next stop is Carolyn Sharkas' blog "Inking The Night Away" at www.inkingthenightaway.blogspot.com - remember that you can always go to our "Home Page" at http://vcrocks.blogspot.com to get the complete listing of blogs participating this month.

Hope to see you soon ... Hug your family .... God Bless, Stamper Shirley

Surprise, it's Friday !!

2011-06-10T10:00:00.001-04:00

Ha ha ... surprise, I'm here again. Here's a card I made using a bunch of punches - which I do so love to use! Stampin' Up! has so many versatile punches! I made it as a sample for a swap, but ran out of time and didn't get to join the swap, so thought I would share it here. The school colors for the graduate are red and black so this worked great! Hope you enjoy ....

And here is a little treat for the graduate - a candy bar with a gift card! I don't have the info handy for making this, but if you want it, just comment here or send me an email at shirlnort@yahoo.com I made this as a Make 'n Take for our group and thought I would include it here with the grad card.

Once again, remember to stop back tomorrow (Saturday) for our VC_Rocks Blog Hop featuring the Big Shot. See you tomorrow! Hugs, cherish your family and God Bless, Shirley

Happy Thursday

2011-06-09T21:15:00.004-04:00

I know, I know, it's been a while ... life's been kinda crazy .... basically good but crazy.

Here's a few items I made for a challenge - hope you enjoy them. Be sure to stop back on Saturday for our VC_Rocks Blog Hop .... with Big Shot our theme!

For this card I used all Stampin' Up! products: cardstock: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Always Artichoke. I so love the Peace Within stamp set and it seemed perfect for these colors. I used the Extra Large Decorative Label to punch out all 4 colors of cardstock and layered them (I cut the 3 layers underneath in half and stacked) - added Always Artichoke Brads and More Mustard 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and added some Always Artichoke extra color with the Color Spritzer Tool (my friend Ellen K got me to spritz!!)

This 6x6 page is my cutie pie youngest granddaughter Ellie - I am soooo far behind in my scrapping of my own girls let alone all the grandchildren - I take gobs of pictures and just store them until I need one - it would cost me a mint and a half to have even the good ones printed! Plus, of course, all the pictures I took and printed before I got a digital camera! But that's beside the point, huh .... This page uses the same colors except for Not Quite Navy instead of the Always Artichoke. Can you tell I love layers???

Don't forget to check back in on Saturday for the Blog Hop. And who knows, I just may even post something tomorrow too! Take care, hug your family and God Bless, Shirley

Thursday thoughts ....

2011-05-20T00:35:00.000-04:00

It's Thursday ... oops, Friday here in Michigan and I thought I would add another post this week! It's been a busy week so I will pick a winner for my blog post last Saturday tomorrow sometime.

Here is a card I just made for my VC_Rocks group for a challenge - we were to use 2 colors from the Subtles collection along with Early Espresso plus another neutral color if desired. I still love this retired Garden From the Heart stamp set and wanted to use it - a friend deserves a card for being very thoughtful this week. Hope you enjoy this card - it was fun to make and nothing like a challenge to get the mojo going. If you want to know what supplies I used, just ask - I'm really tired right now ...

Well, guess I better get some sleep - need to be in Lansing by 9 a.m. ... that means getting up by 6:30 for a shower - that means another night of about 5-5 1/2 hours sleep - again.

Hugs to all, God Bless you all, Shirley

VC_Rocks Blog Hop #1 2011 !!!!!

2011-05-14T08:00:00.003-04:00

Whoo Hoo .... it's time for our first VC Blog Hop for 2011 - it is always exciting to be back in contact with friends from VC_Rocks every Spring and Summer.

You can start at our Blog Home at http://vcrocks.blogspot.com - if you came here from Shari Dudak's blog at http://sharisstamppad.blogspot.com, you are in the right place! Your next and final stop will be our Blog leader Loni Holt at www.loniholt.blogspot.com If you get lost at anytime during the blog hop or find a blog missing, just go back to our Blog Home at http://vcrocks.blogspot.com and you will find the entire listing of all participants - I think there are a total of 30 bloggers this month! Awesome time will be had by all - hope you enjoy all the creativity of our group.

This is my first blog since deciding to no longer be am SU Demo, altho' rest assured, my love for all things Stampin' Up! is still strong! Sorry to have been gone for so long (again) -- just lots and lots of 'stuff' gong on with family, health, etc., etc., etc. And don't forget that I'm basically lazy, so that's another reason/excuse.

So, onward to our May Blog Hop - our theme this month is "Color My World" using markers, crayons, etc., so of course I had to go a bit outside the box and not just color an image like I first thought of. I used an old technique (you didn't think I lost my love for techniques either, did you??) -- it's called "Marker Batik", using markers, plastic wrap, water in a spray bottle and glossy cardstock.

The colors I used are for Card #1
- c/s: Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Glossy White and bit of Whisper White for the sentiment
- markers/ink: Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede (seems like I use this with most of my cards now!)
- Accessories: Marina Mist Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Punch set up on Dimensionals; I also added strips of Cajun Craze with the ribbon

Card #2:
- c/s: Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Glossy White
- Markers/Ink: Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede
- Accessories: Scallop Punch, Marina Mist Grosgrain Ribbon

The last pix is a background to show you different coloring .... the coloring depends on how much marker color and the darkness of the colors you put on the plastic wrap. I love techniques and this one is soooo easy!

Now, I will send one of these cards along with an additional card to you if I pull your name out of a basket - just leave me a comment telling me which card you like the best.

Don't forget - your next and final stop is Loni Holt at www.loniholt.blogspot.com and our Blog Home is http://vcrocks.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoyed my cards this month ... take care, hugs and God Bless, Shirley

December Blog Hop is here!!!!

2010-11-19T23:58:00.003-05:00

I am so excited to be back again for our December SUStars Blog Hop!!! And I am very excited to see what everyone has been creating for this event! If you started here because you are my friend, great!!! If you want to start at the beginning, you can go to our main blog at http://www.SU-Stars.blogspot.com ... or you may have come here from Veronica's blog - Bluegrass Stamper Studio at http://bluegrassstamperstudio.blogspot.com/ ... what a creative gal she is!

I love Christmas - mainly because we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, but also because people are, well, nice ... at least for the most part. I have been busy making cards (check out Thursday's blog post) and have mine stamped now, just need to get them signed and the envelopes ready - all 157 of them! My goal every year is to have them all made and addressed by Thanksgiving - whew, made that goal again! Was not sure I would after making 200 for a friend, but it sure feels great to have them almost ready to mail.

For this blog hop, I made some cards and a cute Gift Card Holder.

I got this idea from a post from Glenda Calkins and changed it a bit. We all need gift card holders especially this time of year, so I try to have several ready to use.

I used Rich Razzleberry and Wild Wasabi, two of my fave colors (do I say that about all the colors we have??) The measurements are: 7 1/2" x 5 1/2", including the punched edge. The band is 1 1/2" x 06 1/2", Eyelet Border punched, then added a Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch strip and Scallop Circle Punch with the smaller ornament from Snow Swirled. In the center of the circle is a brad ... I don't have any Rich Razzleberry brads left (a customer needed all I had for a project) so I took a silver brad, dipped in Versamark, then Rich Razzleberry Ink then Clear Embossing Powder and heat embossed - repeated this several times until it had the color I needed. That's a great way to get any color brad you need!

When I was trying to decide what to make, I realized that I have lent out several of my current stamp sets which limited my choices .... but I am always happy to help my friends and customers with any supplies I have.

My first two cards use our beautiful double-sided Designer Paper, Jolly Holiday. I just love our Designer Papers - so many color combinations and I always have just the right colors and patterns for my projects.

Along with the Jolly Holiday Designer paper, the colors I used are Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive - don't they look great together! I decided to show you how cards look when we do them very simple as compared to one more busy - which do you prefer? Personally, I like the simpler cards better. I would have added a sentiment at the top, but all my current Christmas sentiments that I wanted to use are lent out so I will add it later.

I saw this idea on Splitcoast, I think .. using the tree from Lovely As A Tree for branches. I embossed them in white along with one of the ornaments from Delightful Decorations on Cherry Cobbler cardstock .. and then I realized that I must have lost my hanger from Tree Trimmings set, so I used a stem from another set and embossed that (sorry it's crooked), then added the 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon on the corners. It just seemed to need something, you know.

Hope you enjoyed a look at my blog, and be sure to visit Raissa's blog at www.raissastamps.com ... and remember, if you get lost or have a problem, you can always go back to our home base http://www.SU-Stars.blogspot.com and find the next stop.

As always, take care and God Bless, Sassy Shirley

Stampin' Up! is on sale ...

2010-11-18T23:28:00.000-05:00

Blog hop coming this weekend - right here!!

Be sure to come back and see what's happening!

Hey, has everyone heard about the awesomely awesome Simply Amazing Stampin' Up! recruiting special for only November 15-30, 2010 ... here's the details - give me a call right away to get started yourself! This is definitely an unbeatable deal!!!!

Simply Amazing!

Demonstrator Starter Kit for 50 percent off!

What do you call it when you get over $310 in crafting and business supplies for only $87.50? You can call it an amazing deal, but we're calling it an amazing opportunity! From November 15-30, you can purchase either our Standard or Digital+ Starter Kits at 50 percent off the regular retail price of $175 (plus free shipping!), and enjoy these great benefits as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

Earn additional income while sharing creativity.
Make new and lasting friendships.
Enjoy access to nearly unlimited creative ideas.
Receive a free subscription to our exclusive monthly magazine.
Receive free two-month subscription to your own business website.
Opportunity to earn free products and incentive trips.

Both the Standard Starter Kit and the Digital + Kit are available at this amazing price! The standard kit includes a variety of paper crafting products, and the Digital + Kit is a great option to showcase both traditional crafting products and our exciting digital design software, My Digital Studio.

This irresistible offer is only available until November 30, 2010, so give me a call or send me an email right away ... before it's too late! If you want to grow your own business or just support your own stamping habit, this is the time!! Shirley Northey 989-729-0164 or stampershirley@charter.net

Well, I have been so busy --- making Christmas cards! A friend asked me if I would make some cards for her ... I had to think about it for a bit because I do not have my own cards done yet. Anyway, we went thru all my Christmas stamps, current and retired, she chose the stamps she liked for this year. So here are her cards I made, and she wanted 50 of each - that's 200 cards. So now they are done and delivered - so I can make my own cards, and my goal is always to have them made and addressed by Thanksgiving ... guess I better get busy! Good thing I love to stamp and make cards, huh!!!

All the supplies are Stampin' Up except the star border punch and I do love this retired nativity stamp! These cards are 4 that I made for myself when I did hers - I still love these retired colors from several years ago (Forest Foliage and Baroque Burgundy) but I used Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Night of Navy and Glossy White cardstock for her cards. I embossed the tree and nativity scene in white and the tree stamp is from our beautiful Snow Swirled set, which is available in our catalog.

Hope you enjoy these cards ... just so you know, I did ask if I could post these cards to my blog and she said yes.

Remember our SUStars Blog Hop starting on Saturday morning - you will get a LOT of great ideas for Christmas and other Winter holiday cards and projects - I have my projects all ready to post and I am so excited to see what everyone created!!!

Till then, take care and God bless you, Shirley

Happy Blog Hop Weekend

2010-10-16T05:00:00.004-04:00

Whoo hoo .... SU Stars October Blog Hop is here!!!!

Welcome, welcome, welcome ... Happy Fall. y'all ... and here we all are once again, sharing our projects with you! I hope you enjoy our creations ... you may have come here from Nancy's blog at http://www.fancynancykay.blogspot.com (don't you just love what she does with paper and ink!!) ... or you may be starting with me (because you like to regularly see what I am up to), in which case you will either want to follow all the stops until you make the rounds back to me, or you may want to go to our website at http://www.SU-Stars.blogspot.com and start from the beginning. Whatever way you decide on, make sure you leave comments - we all love to read what you think about what we have created.

This month's theme is Thanksgiving OR Thanks ... so I did both. The story behind the post-it-note holder is this: I was using mine from my purse at a restaurant, a gal sitting at the nearby table saw it and asked me where I got it. Of course I told her I made it, and she asked me to make her a few. Well, I ended up making 27 for a luncheon she was hosting .... when I gave them to her, I included a thank you card - and she wanted me to make 27 of them for her friends too. Whew ... and I even got them done in time to get ready for our trip!

Yes, we are on our way to Disney World for a week - I will of course be checking in on all the blogs participating in the hop while there - can't miss that! Whatever did we do before cell phones, laptops, IPods, etc., etc. Hard to remember sometimes what we did way back then!

Anyway, on to my projects ... I used our Autumn Spice designer paper, cardstock was Old Olive, More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Very Vanilla or Confetti White ... first is my post-it-note holder - fun to make, fun to use and make great little gifts too.

I made two different cards for her since I was running low on the Autumn Spice paper that she liked the best. These are Criss-Cross Pocket cards - love the pull out card to write on - also fun to make and give! The most efficient way to make these is to use both sides of coordinating designer paper instead of using the same print ... but my customer wanted it like this, so ... I cut and adhered strips of c/s on the edges to set it off. There are sooooo many ways to make this card different!

I hope you enjoy these projects ... the lady was very happy and said she will order more for Christmas for another dinner she hosts ... glad I put my info on the back, hope this means additional business for me!

Now your next stop is Raissa's blog at http://www.raissastamps.com/ And, if you get lost or find broken links somewhere, you can always go back to our website at http://www.su-stars.blogspot.com/ and find the complete list. Don't you just love these creative and talented ladies taking part in our blogs!!

Everyone take care, be good to others, and I will try to post more frequently - I just get busy with life and forget it, know what I mean??!!

God Bless you all, Shirley

Your thought for the day: God is never late, but always on time. Remember, His Will, His Way, His Time ...

I sew, too ...

2010-10-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

Just in case you think all I know how to do is stamp, surprise! I love to sew, especially dresses, etc. for my granddaughters - don't do enough of it, but I do enjoy it. This is Gwen's dress this year - the girls love to dress up like Little House on the Prairie, but this year I made this one - kinda old fashioned, but wearable for today too - love the purse - I can see all the little girls wanting a few of them in all colors!! Sure hope it fits and she likes it - her package should be delivered to her today - can't wait to see what it looks like on her. It is so hard to believe our first princess is 11 years old already!!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for our SUStars BlogHop ... I have some cute fall projects you won't want to miss. I will be checking in, but yippee, we will be at Disney World for a week, leaving today. It will be great to see Mickey, Minnie and all the rest ... oh yes, and a bunch of family too ...

God bless you, Shirley

WhooHoo ... it's our first SUStars Blog Hop

2010-09-17T23:23:00.000-04:00

How exciting ... welcome to our very first SUStars Blog Hop!! I know you will have great fun and get some super ideas to CASE on this hop .... and if you get lost on the road of our blog hop, you can always go back to our home blog at http://www.su-stars.blogspot.com/ and find the next stop. You probably came here from Maria's blog at http://stampartpapel.blogspot.com - I am so glad I don't need to remember my Spanish lessons to enjoy her creations!! If you are starting your blog hop here, you can follow the links for all 17 stops plus our home page.

Sorry I have not been posting anything on my blog for a bit - been having a bunch of medical tests as has my hubby, and stamping has not been a priority. Plus ... and this won't surprise some of you ... my stamp cave is a mess and I need to clean it up so I feel creative in here again.

The theme for our blog hop this month is Fall or Halloween ... I chose Fall, and here's my card.

The Stampin' Up! supplies I used are:
Stamp sets: Smarty Pants, Sanded Background and Fall Harvest wheel
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Naturals Ivory
Inks: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive
Accessories: Pinking Hearts Border Punch (hey, you know me and my punches - gotta use at least one on every card if possible!!); Paper Daisies (they come white but I sponged with Old Olive ink); Basic Pearls; Watercolor Pencils; Aqua Painter; Crystal Effects (to add shine to the pumpkins and gourds)

I saw a similar card somewhere - can't remember where, on a blog maybe? and really liked it - I have no idea how I remembered what I wanted to do to make it 'mine', but I did! Guess I'm not as old as I think I am, huh!

Here's a bonus card - one I love to make every year ... It uses the sponge technique on glossy cardstock - the pumpkin is made by punching Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the Large Oval Punch. The layered part is Confetti Cream and Always Artichoke c/s and the Scallop Punch.

Your next stop will be Denise at http://www.denisefoor.blogspot.com/ ... I know you will love her creations ... enjoy the rest of your blog hop!!!

I hope you are having a great weekend - take care and God Bless, Shirley

It's the weekend ..... and the end of VC for this year ....

2010-08-28T18:44:00.000-04:00

This has been a busy week - not sure if I made headway in any areas I needed to, but it seemed like I was coming and going all week. So that means no posts during the week - sorry. Next week looks more relaxed (at this point anyway) so will try to get pix of some cards and get them on here! Monday should be lots of fun - I am driving 4 hours to get together with some of my classmates for lunch - and we will kinda plan our next class reunion.

Tonight is our final party for VC_Rocks this year - boo hoo .... hope I don't lose contact with all my good friends there while we are on hiatus. But as they say, all good things must come to an end - at least for a while.

We just got home from a little trip to the "city" ... did some shopping, ate lunch and then a yummy blizzard at DQ - I know, shame on me, but it was sooo good. And I didn't even finish it so I have some for later. Last night we had a yummy fish dinner out with some very good friends and some great conversations. Some weeks we sure eat out a LOT!!

Today's card was first made by me some time ago - I love this and keep making more ... when Larry needs a card, he often chooses this one, so that means I need to make more. At one time, I had 14 of them made ahead - now I am down to two. I can't remember where I got this idea - it was quite a few years ago, and my memory is not what it used to be .... but I do love it! If it was you, please let me know - I do like to give credit when possible. I am such a CASE'r. It uses a retired stamp set - Cowboy Kid. It takes a while to make because the swinging doors are stamped with white craft ink - and we all know that takes some time to dry completely. I do a full sheet of Chocolate Chip with the white craft ink and (I think) Sanded background stamp. Can't get to my stamp cave because Larry is working in the hallway and I can't get thru. Not sure if you can see it, but the little cowboy is holding his lasso (natural hemp twine).

Hope you like this card - like I said, it is a fave with my hubby and everyone that gets one. Guess I had better get a bunch more made and soon - maybe tomorrow, since there is no NASCAR cup race .... and I will try to use some of my newer (and current) stamps in my next posts, but I just had to share this one today.

Hugs to all, and may God Bless you muchly, Sassy Shirley

VC Blog Hop #4 is HERE!!

2010-08-21T09:00:00.009-04:00

Good morning (or whenever it is where you are right now ...) Yippee, it's time for the next VC Blog Hop again - this was supposed to be our last because our VC group only meets for the Spring and Summer, but we are hoping we can make this a monthly project -- it will be great for those of us in VC to keep in touch, and great for all our followers to see what we are creating just for our blog. In case you don't know or have forgotten, VC is a group of stampers who love Stampin' Up! - and all things stampin' and scrappin' -- the name of our group is really VC_Rocks -- and we will be letting in new members in May - let me or one other gals know you are interested, but be warned -- we talk a LOT -- and have sooo much fun getting together online and sometimes in person! Some of these gals are becoming my very good friends!!

You probably came here from Kym's blog - www.artfulimagination.blogspot.com - if not, you can start at the beginning of our blog hop at www.vcrocks.blogspot.com -- the next blog on our list is Tessa's - you will want to see what Tessa has created at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/tessaboulter/blog - - you won't want to miss any of these awesome blogs this weekend! There are 32 blogs plus our home page with 4 bloggers post there!! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!!!

Today's project came about because I needed a quick little gift - being short of time (and money and sense sometimes too), this was fast and easy for me. I have had the box pattern for several years - not sure where I got it, but I like it. I am posting 2 of the holders so you can see a couple different ideas ... the Lovely Lilac set (a retired color now) I did a few years ago and the Melon Mambo was this week's .... sorry to say that all the stamp sets and designer papers I used are now retired but you can use whatever you have on hand if you want - or again, contact me to order or for a new SU! Idea Book/Catalog ..... but the punches I used are still available!!

Here is my pattern ... hope it makes sense ... I thought I found it on SCS but when I went to find it again, I couldn't locate it -- so this is the best I can do.

I hope you enjoy my blog today - and always. Leave me some feedback and I will draw a name to receive a little something from me. Once again, your next stop will be Tessa at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/tessaboulter/blog

Hugs and prayers for a wonderful day - God Bless you, Sassy Shirley

It's Friday!!!

2010-08-20T13:30:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's Friday again - and looking forward to the weekend - we have a trip to Traverse City and then a funeral back here in Owosso - some fun, some not so fun, but that's how it goes, huh.

Last night I needed to make a birthday card for a friend, and after looking thru my folders full of ideas (from some very creative and artistic stampers), this is what I came up with. It is CASE'd from someone - sorry I don't remember who, but if you know, please let me know so I can give the creator credit. I copied it to a folder and somehow neglected to copy her name.

I love this card - I love butterflies ... the supplies I used (all Stampin' Up!, of course) are Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron and Whisper White cardstock, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive and Basic Black ink, Butterfly and Eyelet Border Punches (whoo hoo - all in our current catalog!!) along with these stamp sets: Upsy Daisy and Curvy Verses (both currently available) and Punch Posies which is now retired. Sometimes it is soooo difficult to give up our favorite stamp sets - and colors - and embellishments, etc. But with so many new and exciting things in the new catty, I know it won't be long before I have new faves, as you will too.

Hope you like this card - I do like to punch out or cut out a stamped image and add it to my cards with Dimensionals - for that "popped up" effect. I have made it in several color combos so play around and let me know what you like the best.

Hugs and prayers and may God Bless you and your family, Sassy Shirley

2010-08-19T19:00:00.004-04:00

Surprise, surprise, surprise ... 2 days in a row!!! Whatcha think about that???!!!

Today's card is a Christmas card - using the Delightful Decorations Stamp Set, Ornament Punch, Sparkle and Shine Jumbo Wheel on Rich Razzleberry cardstock and ink. The Rich Razzleberry c/s is cut 11" x 4 1/4" and scored and folded at 2 3/4" and 8 1/4" ... so they meet in the center. I cut squares of c/s at 2 3/4", 2 5/8" and 2 1/2" and after sponging color on the edges of the Very Vanilla squares, I mounted them on top of each other, add the punched out stamped image with Stampin' Dimensionals so it is just a little bit raised.

I absolutely love all our Stampin' Up! punches ...in fact, I just started a new drawer for the newest punches! They are so useful not only for card making, but great for adding embellishments to your scrapbook pages too -- and save some money too. So many figures can be made with our punches - and they are such fun to create! If you don't have our latest Stampin' Up! Idea Book/Catalog, let me know ... they cost $9.95 but I sell them to my customers and friends for $5 ... with a coupon for $5 off your first order with me of $25 or more. Guess that makes it free, huh! Just let me know you are interested in a catalog, placing an order or joining me with your own SU! business ... most of us are just hobby demonstrators.

So, here's today's card ... two views so you can see how it is folded.

So, do you think you will try this method of cutting and folding a card? Be sure to let me know how you like it when you do.

Once again, I would like to remind you to stop back on Saturday for the VC Blog Hop ... see you then!
Hugs, Sassy Shirley ... now go and be creative!

2010-08-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't been very good about keeping this going ... but here are 3 new cards ... all made alike but the construction of them is different - colors, etc. Hope you like them.

This coming weekend is the next VC Blog Hop - be sure to stop back on Saturday ... you will be sure to get some awesome ideas for your own card making and other paper crafts.

Anyway, here are today's cards ... hope you like them. I hope the pix show all the shine - easy to do but kinda messy ... I stamped the leaves on Whisper White, then stamped the flowers on colored cardstock from the now retired set Embrace Life (still not happy about that!!!) - I cut out the flowers, adhered them on the card and covered with Versamark again and more Irridescent Ice. Along with Whisper White, the colors I used are Perfect Plum and Pale Plum .... Turquoise ..... and Apricot Appeal. Some colors are now retired, but I have a lot left, and wanted to use some of them up ... ok, ok, I have been challenged by my friends on VC to use up my retired colors of cardstock (and DSP)!!

What do you think? Would you like to receive a card like this? I will draw a name from all the responses - be sure to let me know which color you would like.

I really hope you will check back in regularly and leave me a message in one way or the other -- that way, I will be encouraged to keep this blog up to date.

Have a great day - I already have tomorrow's post ready - hope I don't forget to send it!!!

Hugs, Sassy Shirley

VC BLOG HOP #3 !!!!!

2010-07-16T23:25:00.002-04:00

The July VC_Rocks BLOG HOP is here - I am stop #16 .. and I am excited to be a part of the fun this month. If you started at the beginning of the blog hop, you came here from Alexandria Snider's Ready Craft Create blog at readycraftcreate.blogspot.com - if you are just joining the blog hop, you can start at the beginning: vcrocks.blogspot.com.

My card for today is an easy one - really. I have been asked to make and post some easier-to-make cards so here goes. The colors I used are Wild Wasabi and Whisper White - I am happy to see Wild Wasabi back in our catalog, but this time, instead of being an in-color (in 2007-08), it is a "regular" color now. I used these stamp sets: Pocket Silhouettes and Sincere Salutations for the saying, both stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. Other accessories I used included: Scallop Circle Punch and a circle punch, a clear button backed by a 1" circle punched out of Whisper White .... and I used white embroidery floss for an accent. Hope you enjoy it - I received one similar from a friend and I liked it so much that I CASE'd it ... now if you decide to CASE this one yourself, I'd really like to see it. I have had this stamp set since it first came out, and don't think I have ever used it before ... now I have another sample card for you - today was a fun stampin' day!

This card uses the same stamp sets and the Wild Wasabi and Whisper White with Chocolate Chip for contrast. I double stamped (ink your stamp, stamp once, then stamp again without reinking) - Oval punches and our Pinking Hearts Border Punch and Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon. Which one do you like best?

Your next blog stop is Diana Clark at stampinldyglfr62.blogspot.com ... enjoy her creations and the rest of the blog hop! See you next time you visit me here - and hey, next month's blog hop is already scheduled .. so stay tuned.

Have fun, take care, get creative and God Bless

new cards!!

2010-07-16T15:58:00.000-04:00

The name of this Stampin' Up! stamp set is Peace Within ... as many of us know, the only way to have peace is to have Jesus in your heart and your life, but this set is really cute. My daughter saw it and really likes it, so I am making a few cards for her. She loves cats - has 2 in the house and a bunch outside. If you would like to know all the supplies I used, just let me know.

The stamp set is in our new current catalog but sorry to say, the designer papers are retired. I have a BIG box of the designer papers that I am hoarding ... yes, I admit it, I AM a hoarder .... I love them, buy them, hesitate to use them because they are not replaceable ... and so my stash builds and builds. I did have a couple of boxes of non-SU papers, but I have given most of them away now - I just love the quality of the papers we sell, plus the colors go with my ink pads and cardstock! So look for more cards to come - I will try so very hard to use some of my faves.

Tomorrow is our big VC Rocks Blog Hop ... stop by to see what I and some of my friends have made to share with you -- some of the blogs will have blog candy, but you won't know which ones until you stop there! You can come back here and I will have the starting blog or you can go from here and go full circle. Now this is fun!

Until then, take care and get creative!

God Bless you and yours .....

Happy 4th of July - and New CATTY!!!

2010-07-04T16:49:00.001-04:00

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! July 4th is here and I hope and pray your celebrations are fun and safe.

and .... finally .... our new 2010-11 Stampin' Up! Idea Book/Catalog is here, and I have some extras right now!! I am so excited about this new Idea Book, as always. It is such fun to peruse the catty and find the stamps and accessories I just have to have as well as find cards, scrap pages and other creations that I want to copy.

If you would like your own copy of the catalog, just contact me - our fantastic Idea Book/Catalog usually cost $9.95, but you can get your own copy for FREE a couple of ways: FREE by hosting a Workshop or Class with me or for $9.95 with a rebate of $9.95 for placing at least a $30 product order (taxes and s/h are extra) - that's like FREE too. So if you are going to order anyway, you might as well get your catty for free!

Here is a link to view the catalog - now go crazy!! http://204.228.150.61/20102011catalogs/IBC10-11_US_reduced.pdfMake your list and call me to order! Or, contact me to get your own catty in your hot little hands - personally, that's the way I like to shop, even in this day and age of Internet shopping - I like to mark up my catalogs with items I have, what I want, etc ... no one could figure out my code! You may need to copy and paste - my link is not working for some reason ...

I need to take some pix of some of my latest cards - I belong to a great group of gals every Summer (VC_Rocks) and we have lots and lots of swaps - a terrific idea to get stamps and accessories you may not own as well as awesome ideas to CASE (copy and stamp everything). Membership is taken only until May 31st, but if you love to stamp, scrap and make other items with Stampin' Up! materials, contact me and I can let you know next April when we open up again. VC_Rocks really stands for Virtual Convention and we have a very, very good time! It was started for those of us not attending the SU convention every Summer, but many of our members go to convention anyway - it's that much fun.

Check back with me in a day or so for some awesome cards made by me (of course) and some of my friends.

God Bless and again, Happy 4th of July ... be safe ....

2010-06-02T00:27:00.002-04:00

Here's 3 cards for the SNS challenges tonight ... Challenge #1 was to make a card with "winged things" ... so I chose to use the butterfly in the SNS set In His Time. Challenge #2 was to use a "red flower" ... so I used the SNS set Love Blooms. Both these sets were designed last year by my good friend Chris Dickinson for SNS. The 3rd Challenge was to use a cuddly animal and since I need a birthday card for a sweet little girl who loves bears, it was not a problem. I used a long retired set I have from Stampin' Up!. All papers, inks and accessories are from Stampin' Up!. If you have any questions, just ask ... right now, I am going to post this and get to bed as it's after midnight ... and my eyes keep trying to close. Hope you enjoy the cards ... nite nite all and may God Bless you.

Challenge #1: Winged Things SNS61RP1
These butterflies were embossed in black on vellum, cut out and colored with SU Markers. I love to emboss on vellum then color! Can you tell????

Challenge 2: Red Flower SNS61RP2

Challenge 3: Adorable Animals SNS61RP3

This shows the inside of the card - it is folded in a way so it folds in and the card closes nicely but opens in a burst of balloons and confetti and presents. Just added a little extra something for my little friend.

Last Chance

2010-06-01T13:52:00.001-04:00

Well .... the Last Chance list from Stampin' Up! was released early this morning ...

Here is the link for the retiring stamps:
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=738&cid=71

Here is the link for the retiring accessories:
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=754&cid=71

and the link for the retiring Definitely Decorative list:
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=740&cid=71

If you have any problems, just go to stampinup.com and find the lists there. I don't have a SU website right now .... but you can find most things on the customer website or here on my blog or just contact me.

Items are already being shown as limited amounts so don't delay .... call me today to place your order at 989-729-0164 ... if you would like to have a Stampin' Up! creative workshop, I would love to help you with that too - earn FREE products and have fun with your friends and family by creating one-of-a-kind cards and gifts. I took a hiatus but am ready to get back into the swing of planning and conducting workshops - in your home or elsewhere ... again, call me soon to get on my calendar - I know we can find a date that works for both us us.

I hope this beautiful June 1st is a fabulous day for you!!

Happy Memorial Day

2010-05-30T21:29:00.007-04:00

I hope and pray one and all are having a safe and meaningful Memorial Day weekend - remembering our servicemen and women should be done every day, but it is good to have this special time for them this weekend. We went up north on Friday and are going again tomorrow morning. We had too much going on here to go for the whole weekend, so two trips it is. But we get to see family and friends so it is good. Coming home Friday nite we had a big detour on I-27 north of St. Johns, but cannot find the reason on the news or newspaper ... weird ...

Well, I've been told by several gals that they want cards, so here we go ...

Here's a couple cards that I have made - and made over and over again, in different colors and using different sets.

This card has flowers from Embrace Life white embossed on vellum (sometimes I use clear embossing powder) and cut out, then colored in with SU Markers. I used the Eyelet Border Punch to make the strips and Rhinestone Brads for the flower centers - but I cut off the prongs and glued them on so I didn't have the bulk. I love to make this card and have given it for many occasions in the different colors.

This card was made for my daughter for her birthday earlier this month. These flowers are so much fun - using the Fancy Flower Punch (Mini catty). I sponged the edges with Regal Rose Ink before curling the petals and putting it together, and added some Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive and Dazzling Diamonds for glitter and glitz. The directions for the flowers are on several stampers' blogs - let me know if you want their websites. I used Rose Red DSP for the card front over Whisper White. The leaves are stamped and embossed with clear powder. This card is made to be handed to the recipient, not mailed unless you use a box for mailing. Lots of fun and I sit and make these flowers while watching TV. I taught my 10 year old granddaughter and she had no trouble with them.

And this last card is a lot of fun to make! The swinging doors are Chocolate Chip with white Craft Ink and the Weathered Background (retired). This has to be completely dry or it smears ... trust me, I know. I used Cowboy Kid stamp set (also retired) and twirled some Natural Hemp Twine for his lasso. I used Bashful Blue for the card and Naturals White and Chocolate Chip along with the White Gel Pen around the edge. I am sorry that I did not keep the name of the person who made the card like this the first time I saw it a couple years ago - I like to give credit when I can.

Hope you enjoy these cards ... you can let me know by leaving a comment.

God bless you all, Sassy Shirley

I'm ba-a-a-a-ck ....

2010-05-30T15:57:00.007-04:00

Surprise, surprise, surprise ... I cannot believe I have let this blog sit idle since last July ... chalk it up, once again, to being busy, sick and oh yes, basically lazy. I am going to try again to keep up - if you are a regular, email me to keep me posting my cards and other stamping/scrapping creations.

My daughter Amy from Pennsylvania was here last weekend for my Grandson Alex Coffey's graduation ... Amy and 5 of her 7 kids stayed with us then Gwen, the oldest girl at 10 3/4 stayed a few more days. It was fun but these old folks are used to just the two of us and it was an adjustment along with a LOT of fun. Now it is quiet again, and I really miss them all. I am putting a picture of Eleanor, the youngest at 5 months old -- where it ends up on this post is anyone's guess ... I have so much to learn on how to do what I want to do with this blog. I am hoping someone on my VC Rocks group will do a class on blogging .... hint, hint .... but anyway, what a cutie pie ... as are all her sisters and brothers.

I am also adding some pix of Alex's graduation and the FETCH Formal (FETCH is the homeschooling group here that my 3 local grandsons and their parents are involved in. For a time I taught stamping classes but ran into a scheduling conflict - I really enjoyed doing that! Hope they end up where I want them .... lol ... The pix of the Formal include Alex, his older brother Josiah who graduated last year, and Maigen, his girlfriend who also graduated this year. Very nice looking young kids, huh!!! Also pictured is my daughter Pam and hubby Craig with Alex at graduation and his classmates. Some of the homeschoolers from our FETCH group decided to graduate with other friends' groups, so they ended up with just 6 graduates this year. Nice looking group and the ceremony was great!

Well, that's enough for now ... later, I will post some cards and more pix of what I've been up to these past few months. For now, keep stamping - or maybe get started!!! It is so much fun and so rewarding!

Wow, it's July already

2009-07-07T19:54:00.005-04:00

Here it is July and I have been MIA - again. I really mean to keep this blog updated, but I just let life (and laziness) get in the way. Anyway, I will try again.

This is such a wonderful time of the year - relaxing but at the same time, busy, busy, busy. Some days I wish for something to do and other days I wish for some much needed down time. But life is good, and God is "gooder" .... all the time.

Above you see a couple cards I made for swaps and a challenge (the Christmas tag) -- I love doing swaps because I get to use different products and stamps than usual, plus I get a LOT of new ideas for cards or non-card items. All in all, so much fun! And now with the new Stampin' Up! catalog out, there are sooo many options open - new stamp sets, designer paper and embellishments -- a girl could go crazy, you know.

I will make a note to post again tomorrow or Thursday - I need a reminder so I don't forget - again ..... pray for me that I keep this blog up to date. Hey, I don't even check my facebook more than once a week if that!!!

Hugs to all, and may God bless you and your family, Sassy Shirley

A couple of sympathy cards

2009-04-22T21:50:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of cards I made - the situation calling for sympathy cards can be so sad, but this went to a beautiful family whose loved one left us and went to be with our Jesus in heaven. We just cannot be too sad about that, can we?! This friend lived an awesome life here with us, and accomplished what she wanted to do (and what I pray will be remembered about me too) .... she was a very special friend who genuinely loved all people and loved Jesus with all her heart. That made me feel good whenever I was around her, and gave me comfort that there really are people like them in this world.

Can someone tell me when my life is supposed to slow down? Just when I think I have some free time, something else comes up that I need to take care of. I don't want to be bored or lonely, just to have time to do more of some of the things I enjoy doing - like card making and scrapping!! I am taking a few days next week to go to Pennsylvania to get some of those priceless hugs and kisses from some precious grandchildren. But first, I get to spend a day with my grandson Josiah who is graduating next month (and receiving his Eagle Scout too!!!) - I plan to travel with him and his parents to Ohio to his college on Friday. After all, Grandma needs to add her seal of approval too, don't I?????!!!!!!

Hope to be back later -- hugs to all ....

I'm Back ......

2009-04-01T18:38:00.008-04:00

Hello Spring ... at least we hope it is really here! The weather man tells us that we may be getting some rain/snow mix this weekend - yuck! But at least we know it won't be staying too long ... and we here in Michigan are not getting the terrible weather some other areas are, so we are thanking our God for that.

Well, I did it again ... got busy with "life" and forgot that I have a blog! Shame, shame, shame on me -- I will really try not to let so long pass without at least popping in to say "hi". I have been making cards, I just have not posted them.

Above are a couple sets of 3x3 cards I delivered today to a friend who is going on a trip and needed some little gifts. Hope you enjoy them. Stampin' Up! sets I used are Pocket Silhouettes and Take Three with the Floral background stamp - I embossed with clear powder on different colors of cardstock with the background. I wish I would have made some for me --- but these little cards are so easy and so much fun to make!!

As for some news, I have decided to let my Stampin' Up! demonstratorship go. At this point, I am doing better with my Pampered Chef business, and more people are wanting to have a PC show and get products they need, rather than a SU class to get products they want but can do without, during this time. So call me if I can help you with any of your Pampered Chef needs! Just a little commercial .... lol

We are looking forward to seeing my siblings this weekend in Grand Rapids for dinner. It has been months since we have seen most of them. Due to the Winter weather, we can never plan anything for those months, so this will be fun. There are five of us - I am the baby girl -- does that surprise you? lol .... not that I am admitting that I am spoiled, but ....

Another big thing coming up for us in May is grandson Josiah's high school graduation and Eagle Scout ceremony, both Memorial Day weekend. Amy and her family will be here too - so it will be a fun and busy time. I can't wait .... I may have to plan a trip to Pennsylvania this month -- this G'ma is missing all those hugs and kisses from those precious ones.

Well, take care ... we wish you all the blessings from God that you can handle. My friend in Illinois (Danita) says "Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened." I love that - good attitude to have every day and a great way to live! Hugs to all ... Shirley

2008-12-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

Here are the two Christmas cards I made and sent this year - the pocket card I did in two colors - this one is Always Avocado and Rose Red and the other one was Night of Navy and Bravo Burgundy. The other card is Night of Navy and Whisper White. I like the simpleness of them, and I think they tell the story of why we have Christmas. Like I said in the previous post, I didn't get them all sent out, but I hope you enjoy seeing them here anyway. I love to make cards, and although I also love making scrapbook pages, I usually have to push myself to do the pages. Like just about everybody I know who scraps, I have boxes and boxes of pictures just waiting to find a home on a special page. Maybe when I get old?????? lol

I will really try to post more often - it's not like I don't create cards and such, I just forget to take pictures and post. I will post a picture of my family when we return from Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio in early January! That's our Christmas gift to each other and is fast becoming the highlight of the year for all 15 of us. And now that Christmas is here, the kids are now asking "how many days to Great Wolf"?

May God bless you all with love, good health and safety. Talk to all later, Sassy Shirley

By the way, my friends can email me anytime at shirlnort@charter.net .... if you have written and I have not responded, I have been unable to access my gmail accounts for some time.

2008-12-25T19:00:00.001-05:00

Wow, can you believe I have not posted for so long? So much has happened since November 7th! Larry and I went on a trip - a 14 day cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico! We flew in and stayed in San Juan for a few days before the cruise, just looking around and enjoying the wonderful warm weather. Needless to say, we had an absolutely terrific time!! But then we had to come back to this white stuff that some people seem to like. You know, I don't usually mind the snow so much as the ice and the white-outs. Yesterday here in Michigan we had rain all day - Christmas Eve, and it rained all day. Saturday is supposed to be about 50 degrees with rain, maybe thunderstorms. Last night we got a bit more snow, which we found when we left church after our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service -- one of my very favorite services of the year, by the way. We drove around a bit and looked at some of the beautiful Christmas lights around town before coming home. The only problem with taking the cruise is that since we got home on Dec. 8th, neither of us have felt the best, and that really put a crimp on the Christmas decorations here. We just did not feel like messing with the many, many totes full of the decorations we have collected over the years. Next year, huh!! I also did not get all my Christmas cards mailed .... so I am now making some New Year's cards to send ... just hope I get them mailed out real soon, or I will be making and sending Valentine's!!! Today, Christmas Day, we enjoyed spending part of the day at daughter Pam's house with her, Craig and the 3 boys. Homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast (a "Pam" tradition), opening gifts and then a delicious ham dinner. Josiah got a new laptop, so he gave me his old one, which is not old at all ... just too slow for him with all his music, pictures, games and such. So I am one happy camper tonight -- I just need to call my internet provider (Charter) and see what I have to do to connect it. I hope and pray you are all having a super-duper Christmas season, and remember now, as every day of the year, that Jesus really is the reason -- for this blessed season and for every day of the year!! Merry Christmas to one and all, Sassy Shirley

I'm back .....

2008-11-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Hey there ... so sorry, but life keeps getting in the way of my posting here!! I just got home from visiting my daughter and her family in Pennsylvania - I spent the week there just "loving on" my 6 precious grandbabies there! The oldest, Lee, turned 17 years old today ... wonder when I will stop calling him my baby???!!! lol Emma turns 6 next Saturday and their Dad's birthday is next Monday. Quite a month for birthday parties at their house, huh! The other kids include Joel age 13, Gwen age 9, Isobel age 3 and Elisha who will be 2 in February. Elisha is our miracle baby, having weighed just about 3 pounds when he was born - he spent a couple months in the NICU and now he is walking all over and is for sure all boy!!

Here is one of my favorite cards to make and give ... everyone seems to like receiving it, from kids all the way up. It is made by punching out ovals with the Stampin' Up! oval punches and some circle punches. Each piece is "thwacked" on the edges ... this just means dipping a corner of a sponge into the ink color and "thwacking" it on the side of the paper. This is a real fun card to make as well as give!

Hope everyone is doing great .. remember these words:

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Won the Election 1. The Bible will still have all the answers. 2. Prayer will still work. 3. The Holy Spirit will still move. 4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people. 5. There will still be God-anointed preaching. 6. There will still be singing of praise to God. 7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people. 8. There will still be room at the Cross. 9. Jesus will still love you. 10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Amen and Amen ... have a wonderful weekend - I will try to post another card later tonight or tomorrow, using more of my friend Chris' new Sweet 'N Sassy stamps!

Inky Hugs, and God Bless, Shirley

Autumn Blessings

2008-09-19T23:06:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a few days since I have posted some new cards .... just been busy with life along with having some bad headaches and sinus stuff going on. This weekend my siblings come to our home for our monthly dinner - we take turns hosting the event and this is our weekend! My sisters from Grand Rapids and near Cadillac and my brother and his wife from Middleville (all in Michigan, of course) will be here but our brother and his wife from farther up north in East Jordan will be unable to join us this time.

Anyway, here are my first two cards using my friend Chris Dickinson's newest stamp set for Sweet 'n Sassy Stampers - this one is called "Autumn Blessings" ... and I love it. I m excited about her next sets too - for Christmas!!! I know I will be using one of them for most of my cards this year.

Can you tell I really like the Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Punch?? I am having fun with it, and found on a blog somewhere how to make these boxes .... it was fun so I layered them! I will have to learn to write down where I find blogs with fun things that I try to make. I will try, really I will.

Hope you enjoy these cards .. let me know if you have any questions about how to make them or if you want to join us for a Stampin' Up! workshop or stamp camp.

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend.

CBC33 - Belli Challenge

2008-09-11T19:08:00.000-04:00

Oops, I forgot to add this title (CBC33 - Belli Challenge) to the previous post .... hope this works ....

2008-09-11T18:32:00.000-04:00

This is my very first card made with my very first Sweet 'N Sassy stamp set .... designed by my dear friend, Chris Dickinson - see her blog at http://www.chrissyd723.blogspot.com/ .... hope you enjoy it. This set is a very precious one, with both a girl and a boy at prayer and lots of word stamps - I can see getting a lot of use from this one! Chris has another set coming out very soon, and I am excited to get that one also. You can see all of Sweet 'N Sassy stamp sets at http://www.sweetnsassystamps.biz/shop/

For this card, I used SU products except for the SNSS Child of God. Cardstock is Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Confetti White and a retired DP (Sarah). I also used the Tool Kit (for the punched holes), retired Fancy Fibers Soft Subtles and Crystal Effects for the nightie and bracelet. Oh yes, I also used a Fiscars Paper Edger.

Again, hope you enjoy this card, and please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

I just felt the need to stamp something tonight - we were at a funeral downstate today for Larry's aunt - she was such a special lady, and will be missed by so many. Her sisters came from Canada for the funeral - Larry and I have been married for over 17 years and I had never met them (don't ask me why we don't go visit them - but we will be going soon). They are both in their 90's and still so vital and active. Gives us all hope, huh .....

If my headache eases, I think I just may stamp another card with this set - like I said, I love this set. By the way, Chris' next stamp set is called Autumn Blessings.

2008-09-08T21:45:00.000-04:00

Here's the blue card - very similar to the pink one. This one uses vellum designer paper, again leftovers. These cards were very easy, which was good .... since I needed a couple of them soonest!

2008-09-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

I needed some baby cards, so I made this pink one and a blue one. I have so much retired SU designer paper, so thought I would use some of it up. The stamp sets I used are "Background Basics" and "So many Scallops" which I stamped and punched with the scallop circle punch and the other round punches to layer. I also used the Crafter's Tool Kit around the edges and White Gel Pen, added white grosgrain ribbon and I was done! Easy peasy!! The blue card uses a retired vellum striped designer paper - Hope you enjoy these cards ... I had fun making a few of each.

My Blog is Here!!!

2008-09-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

Well, it's about time, huh .... I have been putting this off for a long time, loved seeing all my friend's blogs (stamping and family, etc.) and tonight decided to 'just do it' now. Welcome, welcome, welcome ... you are among my first visitors .... I hope this is as much fun for you as I think it will be for me. I will try to keep it updated regularly with my stamping creations and goings-on in my life. So for now, let me see what I can do about posting a card or two ..... wish me luck!! Remember to keep God in the center of your life - He has been with me through every step of my life ... sometimes I didn't know it (or acknowledge Him) but He has always been here for me. Believe me, there is no other way to live!!!! Inky Hugs and God Bless, Shirley