Finally Friday!!

How about a video to celebrate! I did a little tutorial for coloring the butterflies on a couple of the cards I posted recently just in case anyone wanted to see how it was done.

 
I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

It will be here before you know it!

Yes I am talking about Christmas! This year I wanted to start getting ready a bit earlier since I always wait until the last minute & then its a mad dash to finish everything! Hope this year will be different but we shall see. At least I will be a bit ahead on making Christmas cards & wanted my friends to be ahead too so I decided we will start our Christmas cards in September instead of October! This will also mean I get to add an extra Stamp a Stack class this year! Woo Hoo! So we will have a Christmas Stamp a Stack every month for the next 3 months! Here are 2 of the card options for the September 29th class...

I like to have a variety of cards available (elegant, whimsical, traditional, etc.) & throw in a couple non traditional colored cards. Anyway I've got to get back in my craft room to finish up the other 3 samples! Thanks for stopping by today!

My Artisan Finalist Swap



 

So here is the card I ended up making with all those flowers I showed you a few weeks back. It was hard to come up with something to swap with such a talented group. I went with something similar to the wedding card I entered in the contest but made a few changes. It was really down to the wire making 25 of these but it was so worth it to get to swap with such a creative group of ladies! I will share more the swaps I received soon.
Thanks for stopping by today!

One Hour Stamp Therapy Coming Soon!

I am so excited about this new event! We get to get out of the house, stamp with friends, & eat pastries! Whoop Whoop! Plus just to keep adding to my own excitement...we are doing Angry Birds PUNCH ART!!

Here is the info, if you live close by hope you'll join us!

When: Sept 6th 7pm-8pm
Where: Panera Breads
            43317 Christy St
            Fremont, CA (off Automall Pkwy)
More details here on my events page.

We hope to continue meeting up at Panera the first Thursday of each month if all goes well. And if you're a local SU demo & you'd like to come out please do! We'd love to chat with you!

Also wanted to invite you to join my new group at Meet Up.com Click Here to check it out.

SAVE THE DATE for Cards for Kids!

October 6th is World Card Making Day & what better way to celebrate than using our hobby to make a difference in the lives of others! That's what card making is really all about, right?

We will be creating cards to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities! Stampin Up has been partnered with this worthwhile cause for over 10 years! Click here for the flyer highlighting this year's RMHC stamp set "Moving Forward"! I received this adorable card from Artisan winner Sarah Sagert in the Artisan Finalist swap at Convention! I think it highlights the Moving Forward set perfectly!

Here's a little more info off the SU website:
Stampin' Up! is partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC) to bring comfort and creativity to the lives of Ronald McDonald House guests. Each year, thousands of families stay at more than 160 independently operated Ronald McDonald Houses in North America. These Houses serve as temporary homes for the families of seriously ill children who are being treated in nearby hospitals.

Stampin' Up!'s commitment to RMHC is fourfold. Each year, the company donates $100,000 to the organization, in addition to a portion of the proceeds from the sale of an exclusive stamp set designed to promote the partnership with RMHC. The company's demonstrators are also encouraged through the Making a Difference campaign to volunteer their time teaching Ronald McDonald House guests in their areas the creative art of rubber stamping.

Finally, cards demonstrators create at training events throughout the US and Canada are donated to Ronald McDonald Houses in the areas where the events are held.

You can find all the details of this event here on my SU event page! If you can not attend the event but you would still like to participate please contact me to sign up for a "Card for Kids Kit" in the mail.  Hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

It's Thursday Already!

Hey what happened to Wednesday?? I meant to pop on & post the second card we made at Technique Tuesday but I guess time just got away for me...AS USUAL! Anyway I'm here now so here is the card.

I saw a great card on Erica Cerwin's blog & I just had to case some of her elements. I love how this card came out! I wanted to preserve the natural feel so I didn't add any embellishments & just let the focus be on the beautiful butterflies! I used Daffodil & Pumpkin markers to color the butterflies. It's easy peasy but if anyone wants a quick video done on how I did it just let me know. Thanks for stoppin by today!

P.S. Just an FYI the Butterfly punch Stamp Camp has been RESCHEDULED! Please check my events calender for info.

Technique Tuesday!

Woo Hoo! It's almost time for Technique Tuesday! As I said in a previous post my gals requested the triple layer stamping technique so I was glad to oblige. I was excited about the card they are making tonight & I just couldn't wait to share! So here it is...

Hope they love it as much as I do! I'll share more tomorrow. =)

Supplies:
Stamps- Everything Eleanor, Blooming with Kindness
Cardstock- Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink- Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Soft Suede
Accessories- Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Jewels, Rhinestone Brads

First Freshly Made Challenge!

Last night I was blog hopping & found this fun website that does sketch challenges! Sometimes I struggle with layouts & I loved their clean sketches so I decided to play along! Here is the sketch & my card.

Inside Card

I spent some time yesterday trying to get my craft room in order. Good news is I can walk in there now & actually see alot my desk but it's far from done. Anyway I found way too many pieces of pre cut cardstock so I thought I would try to use some of it up. I had the small black & vanilla pieces cut from a couple stamp a stack classes ago so I stamped them with the hot air balloon from the You're Amazing set. I also found the pre stamped thanks & I needed some thank you cards so it worked out perfect. Thanks for taking a peek today I'll be back tomorrow with our Technique Tuesday card!!!

OH WAIT almost forgot the winners of the blog candy!!!

Susan said...

she IS stinkin' cute & Looks like a fire cracker....these projects are totally stunning; thank you for sharing thru the blog hop!

AND

kat said...

If you're a novice seamstress, it doesn't show; you did a great job! AND your model is, indeed, full of fabulousness.....thanks for the offer of blog candy, too; someday I may actually win some!

Congrats ladies! Please email me (webers4jesus at sbcglobal dot com) with your address so I can get your prizes out to you!

For my friend!

Well now that the blog hop is over I can get back to sharing some other things that I've made recently! Lets start with a couple journals I made for my wonderful friend & her sweet grandaughter.

They are taking a road trip up north & I wanted to give them something special to record the memories they may make on the way. I remember taking trips with my grandparents & I enjoyed it so much! I wish I had a journal of our adventures. Anyway thanks for stopping by today! See you tomorrow with our blog candy winner announcement!

Blog Hop Day 10!

Well here we are the very last day of the blog hop! I hope you have really enjoyed seeing all the fabulous projects & have been inspired to create some fabulousness of your own! (yeah don't know if that was a word but whatevs.)  On to my favorite 3-D item! Please note I am totally biased but you can let me know if its not the stinkin cutest ever!

Total Cuteness, right? If you follow my blog you may remember I have been trying to learn how to sew & #4 has been less than cooperative trying on some of my creations. So I was happy when she tried on these little pants. She even wanted to wear them to church! (Photo #3) But when it was time to take them off... shall we say, it seems that she liked them a little too much & she had no problem letting me know it. Yikes!  Luckily the skirt & shirt she didn't care about but all she kept saying was "My Pants My Pants!" So in photo #2 you can see her getting exciting as I held up a package of fruit snacks since she had been such a good little model & let us take off the pants without any issue this time. This kid brings such indescribable joy & laughter to our family! She is adorable & trust me she knows it! She is as my great grandma calls her a "firecracker"! She is super sassy & has her big sisters wrapped around her little finger! Mommy is still her favorite person though. =)
Yes she makes my heart melt! She is truly a blessing to us all!
So it's time to wrap up this hop. Here is the photo of all my entries on the display boards.

Thank you for sharing this time with me & I hope you will stop by often to see more fun projects!
But before you go how about a little blog candy!! Just leave a comment on this post & I will choose someone on Monday to receive some fun stuff!
Also if you enjoyed the Hop please make sure to leave a comment on Connie Collin's blog! She put it all together. Thanks so much Connie! You are such a sweetheart & such an inspiration to me! {{Hugs}}
Alright now lets head over to visit Tara...
>>NEXT>>

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

         7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)
         8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

         9. Mindy Bingamon

Blog Hop Day 9

Well I am excited to show you my last & favorite card from my entries. I am not a huge glitter girl but I really went all out for this one. I was afraid I would run out of Dazzling Diamonds! LOL! My goal with my cards was to make 5 different occassions so the last one I have to show is my wedding one.

Love Love Love how this came together!!! This photo truly does not capture all it's sparkly splendor! I stamped the flower image in versamark, embossed with heat n stick powder, then added the glitter. For the sentiment I inked it with Sahara Sand & versamark then did the same thing with the heat n stick & glitter. I used the adhesive sheets again (love those things!) to cut out the leaves & butterflies so they could easily be covered with glitter! Now that you've seen my favorite card, hope you stop by tomorrow for my favorite 3-D project! Now on to Tara's blog!

>>NEXT>>

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

         7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)
         8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

         9. Mindy Bingamon

Blog Hop Day 8

Day 8!! Today my hubby & I are celebrating being together for 10 years! OmGosh where in the heck did the last decade go!!! It really does not feel like we have been together that long!
Well I only have a couple more projects to show you after today. =( But I've saved my favorites for last!

I loved how this card came out! I actually had another card made & ready to send then I felt like I just wasn't supposed to submit the other card, now again its the 11th hour & I'm kinda freaking out thinking "Lord if I'm not supposed to send this card then what the heck am I supposed to send?" Of course God is always faithful! This was the very last card I made for the competition just a few hours before it had to be mailed out. I wish I would have taken a picture of the inside. I put some stars inside & stamped "Miss You". I don't have a brother but I was thinking how much someone would enjoy sending this to their brother in the military. I hope SU comes back with some star dies soon! Anyway thanks for taking a peek at my project today! Lets keep hopping over to see Tara!
>>NEXT>>

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)
8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Blog Hop Day 7

 Welcome back to day 7 of the blog hop! Hope you've been inspired to bust out your stamps & ink em up! Today I have my third scrapbook page to share. This one features #3. All my girls look a lot like me but this one is a spittin image of me when I was her age! The only real difference is I had super curly hair & she doesn't. This kid is super high energy from the time she wakes up to the time she falls asleep. She is almost always happy & smiling & being a goofball! She is very different from #2, who is all about girly girly stuff. #3 could care less if her outfit matches, her hair is brushed, etc. she just wants to play! And she LOVES LOVES LOVES dogs!!! Anyway on to the page...

Scrapbooking is not my strong suite but I loved this picture so much I just let it inspire the page. I kept it very simple. We were out shopping & she spotted this hat & coat so of course she had to try them on! I had my big camera in my bag for some reason so we had a little fun pretending to be "modeling" the outfit. I cut out a few layers of the letters & stacked them on top of eachother to give some dimension & I guess the rest is pretty straight forward. Thanks for stopping by today!

Now its time to hop over to Tara's project!

>>NEXT>>

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Blog Hop Day 6

Well thanks for continuing to check in for our daily Artisan Finalist projects! Its been so fun seeing what each of these talented gals created for the contest! Today I have another card to share.

As you may already know I am a huge procrastinator. I will wait till the last possible minute to get things done. It's sick, really. Anyway my contest entries were no exception. My hubby always says its because I do my best work under pressure. Aw thanks hunny, you're such an enabler! LOL! So I had finished a couple of my projects on a reasonable time schedule this time (SHOCKER!) but then I just completely lost my mojo & couldn't do anything for days. Now its just a few days till I have to get all the entries in the mail & they still aren't made or even thought up. So I simply said "God, the only way this is going to get done is if you help me." I guess the rest is history since I obviously did get all the entries done in time but it was seriously only by the grace of God! This card was one of my favorites!! It was the first time I really tried this amount of sewing on a card & it just came out so stinkin cute! Anyway I am sure you are anxious to see what Tara has for you so lets head over.

>>NEXT>>


Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Supplies:

Blog Hop Day 5!

Well today marks the half way point of our hop, 5 days down & 5 more to go! Today I'm sharing another scrapbook page. This one is 100% MDS! I am still learning MDS but when I found the Petal Pizzaz stamp set matched the fabric on my daughters dress perfectly I may have squeeled! I loved this picture of my little one, especially since she is actually wearing a dress I made!

I made another page first but went with the top one for my entry. I like this page too but I'm going to go back in & add some grass & stuff. Love how easy that will be since its digital! Can't wait to get MDS 2! Whoop! Whoop!

Ok well thats all I have for today now on to see what Tara is sharing!

>>NEXT>>


Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Blog Hop Day 4

Well we are just moving along! Day 4 already! Didn't you just love Amy's project!!
I have a fun card to share today. If you've read my blog.....uh ever you probably know I LOVE LOVE LOVE punch art! So I had to make at least one of my entries feature a little of that. With so many talented ladies creating punch art these days its hard to come up with fresh ideas that haven't already been done so I racked my brain for something & I came up with this...

I busted out my Owl & Cupcake punches & this is what I ended up with! I have done a hot air balloon before but not like this one. Chevron patterns are so popular right now & so are hot air balloons so I thought this was a winning combo! I kept it super simple so the punch art & chevron would really be the star. Thanks for hopping by! Lets go visit Tara & see what she's up to today.
>>NEXT>>
<

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Supplies-
Stamp: Up Up & Away
Ink: Bashful Blue, Basic Gray
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Dies: Tasteful Trim, Circles #2
Punches: Owl Builder, Cupcake Builder
Other: Simply Scored, Bakers Twine

Are You Ready For Stamp Camp!

*If your looking for the blog hop just scroll down past this post*
The new Elegant Butterfly punch is a total Must Have item from the new catalog! My friend & downline Stephanie were inspired to create a fun Stamp Camp with this punch while we were at Convention. Here are the 4 designs we will be making!

Our campers will make a total of 8 cards, 2 each of 4 designs! They will also receive the Elegant Butterfly punch,  1 package of jewels, a goody bag, door prizes, & refreshments!

 Here is the flyer for the camp:

If you're available I hope you join us!

Saturday August 25th

12pm-3pm

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Now I'm back to sharing more of my Artisan entries!

Blog Hop Day 3

Hope you have been inspired by all the fabulous projects you've seen so far! Today I have one of the five cards I made for the contest.

 I loved the keepsake box I made with this stamp set awhile back so I used it as inspiration for this card. You may have seen the box as one of the thumbnails on Splitcoast Stampers (so cool!) but incase you haven't seen it...

Tutorial for the box is ((HERE)).
Now hop on over to Tara's blog for more lovely eye candy!
>>NEXT>>
<
Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9.          Mindy Bingamon

Supplies-
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: Soft Suede, Basic Gray
Markers: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Subtles DSP Stack
Other: Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Pearls

Blog Hop Day 2!

Welcome back! Hope you are enjoying the hop so far! My next project is this scrapbook page of #2!

I agonized over what photos to use & how to incorporate all the stuff I wanted to get on the page but I think it turned out pretty cute! She loves bling so I had to make sure to add lots of glitter! I love the adhesive sheets it made adding glitter to the die cut letters so simple! Ok next up is a fun project by Tara!
>>NEXT>>
<

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

9. Mindy Bingamon

Supplies:
Stamps- Extreme Elements
Ink- Whisper White, Peach Parfait
Cardstock- Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Whisper White, 2010 In Color & Brights DSP Stacks

Artisan Finalist Blog Hop Day 1!!

If you just came from Amy's fun project, Welcome! If you're just starting out here, it's gonna be fun! Well It's finally time to parade our Artisan Finalist projects! Woo Hoo! Even though we ultimately didn't make it to the top 10 Top 20 is still amazing!!! I am honored to even be named in the same group as these wonderful ladies! I got to see all the entries at Convention & they are FAB-U-LOUS!!!

So for day 1 I thought I would share one of my 3-D projects. I made this cute little tea cup complete with SU stamped cookies! (They were in the oven when I took the photo so those are stand ins.)

Now hop on over to see what Tara has in store for you! See you tomorrow for Day 2!
>>NEXT>>
<<PREV<<

Here's the line up in case you get lost on your way:

1. Connie Collins

2. Holly VanDyne

3. Melissa Stout

4. Amy O'Neill

5. Sandie Conner

6. Amy Rogers

7. Mercedes Weber (you are here)

8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

         9. Mindy Bingamon

Supplies-
Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Beau Chateau DSP
Ink: Soft Suede, Marina Mist
Dies: Dresden, Clear Circle, 3 1/2 & 3 Circle
Punches: Modern Label, Decorative Label
Other: Victoria Trim