Convention 2011

Just a few more of my favorite photos!

More Convention Eye Candy!

I have to share with you the sweetest thing I saw at convention...

My babies! It was cool to see my artisan award entries on the display boards! I might have scared the lady next me when I squeeled with excitement. Seeing my cards was nice but seeing my kids up there, it made my heart smile to see them. Especially since I miss them like crazy! So in the top photo is my 6 year old & 18 month old and in the bottom photo, the butterfly page, is my 5 & 6 year old. Anyway back to some other things you will think are sweet...

The black shadowbox clock in the second photo was one of the items I entered also! It was so hard to part with it so it was nice to see it again. Anyway I will share more once I get back home.

Hugs,

Mercedes

Quick Peek!

Its late and I'm exhausted but I want to show you a couple of the amazing displays at convention!

I'll be back tomorrow!

CONVENTION OR BUST!

I loved this quote from Twilight & I just couldn't resist making a special jacket for my trip to convention! I'm off to Salt Lake City early in the morning but I am going to try & blog while I'm there for everyone that couldn't go this year. I am sure there will be lots of eye candy to share!
See ya soon from SLC!

So Many Swaps So Little Time!

As soon as I saw the Kindness Matters set in the new catalog I knew I had to have it asap! I am a sucker for beautiful butterfly stamps. I paired that with my new favorite dsp Beau Chateau. So pretty!

I got my box of new goodies yesterday! The Berry Blossoms DSP is adorable! Love the new stripe embossing folder too. I added some white gel pen details to really tie it all together. I think they came out super cute! These will be a couple of my swaps for convention. My goal was to do 100 cards, 25 of 4 different designs, but making a bunch of one card is not exactly my cup of tea so we will see how that goes. Thanks for stopping by today, hope you have a lovely weekend!

Im Back!

OMGosh I can't beleive I have been away so long!! I have thought about blogging alot but its been one thing or another keeping me from getting to it but alas I decided today I was going to make time to share something with my cyber friends. So with out further ado...

Since this was first post featuring new catty goodies I wanted to use lots of them! I used 2 of the fabulous new In Colors, Pool Party & Calypso Coral. Also new scallop ribbon, border punch, pennant/doily die, & the My Friend stamp set. All Totally Yummy! I was inspired by the new Berry DSP. Loved the punch art strawberry idea I saw on SCS. Don't know who the original creator was but its So cute! I don't have the heart die they have been using so I just used the heart punch & polka dot embossing folder. Made the little one with the small heart & boho flower punches. I made a bunch of the big strawberries for my convention swaps! SO EXCITED to be going this year!

And just in case you haven't already seen this...

Oh my the catalog is absolutely gorgeous & its crammed with so many must haves & amazing eye candy! Well friends thats all for now. I gotta get back to making those swaps!
Hugs,
Mercedes

A New Hobby!

Ok when my hubby showed me that new TLC show Extreme Couponing show I was like "WHAT?! How do they do that?". Also my mom had actually been telling me that a friend of hers started doing this & was getting some great deals. So I decided to give it a try. Since they don't double coupons in my state I have no expectation of getting $800 worth of groceries for $10.00 nor do I have space to store that much stuff so I'm really just doing what I can realistically. I went on line & found a couple great couponing websites. http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/ & http://www.couponmom.com/ . I am sure there are others & if any of you have any tips please share! Anyway I wanted to share what my first 3 shopping trips have got me so far:

Trip 1-Walgreens
10 boxes Ritz Crackerfuls -$9.00 (MoneyMaker)
1 box Wheat Thins -$ .30 (MoneyMaker)
1 Coffee Drink -$.30 (MoneyMaker)
3 Kids Nintendo DS Games $4.75ea=$14.25
2 Charmin TP 9roll packs $1.34ea=$2.68
4 boxes Flavored Gelatin $.20ea=$.80
1 TY Stuffed Giraffe $1.05
4 Reynolds Wrap 75ft $1.69 ea.=$6.76
4 Bounty Paper Towels 6 roll pack $2.35ea=$9.40
Paid about $25 Total Savings$83.54

Trip 2- Rite Aid
2 Schick Hydro Razor Refills $1.25ea= $2.50
1 Sunsweet Ones $1.99
1 Corn Pops Cereal $1.18
2 Candy Bars $.50ea=$1
1 Excedrin $3.99
2 Renpure Conditioners $FREE
Paid about $11 Total Savings $17.68

Trip 3- Safeway
6 Lipton Teas $.10ea= $.60
2 boxes Trix $.89=$1.78
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch -$.32 (MoneyMaker)
2 Cake Mix $.39=$.78
1 6 pack Ramen Noodles $.89
1 gallon Milk $3.29
15 Prego Pasta sauce $1.38ea=$20.70
12 cans Black Beans $.54ea=$6.48
1 Pretzel Snacks $2.49
1 Crescent Rolls $.99
2 Pillsbury Pizza Dough $3.98
1 Cool Whip $1
2 Hot Pockets $2ea.= $4
2 Maries Blue Cheese $1.38ea=$2.75
1 Bell Pepper $1
Paid about $50 Total Savings $89.17

At Walgreens I get a 15% off family discount & the TP, Games, & Paper Towels were on clearance. The trick is pairing up your coupons with the stores sale prices. I think the best deal I got was the razor refills at Rite Aid. They were $8.49ea but Rite Aid had them BOGO free & I had 2 $3 off coupons! So even though 1 was free I was still buying 2 so I could use 2 coupons! Woo Hoo! Anyway enough about that for now...I do have a card to share!

Last but certainly not least The SU Retiring Stamp Set Lists! {{Click Here}} Retiring Accessories {{Click Here}}

All Done!

Woo Hoo! I've finished all the card samples for next weekends Stamp a Stack! It's a super busy home improvement weekend around here so I've got to get back to work. Hope you are having an enjoyable holiday weekend!

More SAS Cards!

 
 

Stamp a Stack Card 1

Just a quick post. I have been working on the cards for the June Stamp a Stack so I wanted to give you a little sneak peek! I'll be back tomorrow with more. Have a great day!

Fathers Day

We had a small group for Technique Tuesday but we still had a great time! This was the Father's Day card we made.

We also did an easel card but I will post that later. Thanks for stopping by today!

Napa Valley Beauty

We had so much fun yesterday! We took the little princesses to Castello Di Amorosa, a beautiful tuscan style medieval castle winery in Calistoga.  It was our first time visiting a winery & actually we just went to see the castle. Hubby & I haven't really drank wine before. It was a nice experience to sample the different wines. It is probably an aquired taste but did they have some sweet wines that we enjoyed very much. Anyway here are a couple pictures from our day.

I am looking forward to going back & taking the guided tour so we can see more of the castle. Anyway thanks for poppin by. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Fridays Stamp n Chat Fun!

I saw this beautiful card on Julie Buhler's blog & just had to case it. I changed it up a little since I wanted to use the new Fabulous Florets set & the triple layer punch. I made it in 2 color combos.  The first is the same as Julie's with the addition of Pear Pizzaz. The second is Baja Breeze & the leaf is a stamp off of Always Artichoke. I went through a few greens before I found one that looked good with the green dsp. We made the first one at the Stamp n Chat.

Thanks for stopping by & I hope your day is blessed!

So Fabulous!

Getting ready for Friday nights Stamp n Chat! I used the brand new summer mini set Fabulous Florets! This set is really pretty & simple to use. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful week!
                                                                         

Catty Case Fun!

Its been a crazy couple of weeks! First off a couple weeks ago I had the wild idea of entering Stampin Up's Artisan contest but I thought the entries were due at the end of the month but they were actually due today! I can't believe that I actually finished all my entries & they were delivered 2 days ago! This was by far creatively the hardest thing I have ever done. One of my 3-D items about brought me to tears a few times. Anyway enough about that. I had two fun nights in a row! I had my wonderful Technique Tuesday group join me & we made paper flowers. Then the next day I got to get together with some of my downline & we had a catty case night! Here are a couple of the cards we created!
  

I cased this card from the last page of the new summer mini. I added my own touches & loved SU's idea of creating a different style of butterfly with the Strength & Hope set.

This card came out super cute & was made by my brand new downline! So much fun!
Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Pretty Paper Flowers!

Super busy so just a quick post. Next week at Technique Tuesday were are making paper flowers so I wanted to get some samples ready. Have a great day! 

Bunny in a Basket!

I thought this came out so adorable! I used the petal cone die & the wide oval punch to make the basket! The bunny is made the same as the brown one but obviously she is white. I used pretty in pink for her nose & ears & she is sponged with going gray. See previous posts for video tutorials.

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you have a wonderful day!

HOP Bunny Take 2!

Well after I made the bunny for the first tutorial I started playing with the idea of creating him a body so here he is!

I love him! Hope you enjoy! 

HOP Inspired!

My girls have been asking us to take them to see the new movie HOP so this bunny's colors are inspired by the bunny in the movie. I will be back tomorrow with another card & another tutorial video!

Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful Butterfly

I am just loving this new set! This is the project I have designed for the gals I will have the pleasure of stamping with this week!

Pretty In Pink

Today I got to play along with the inspiration challenge on SCS! I hate to admit it but I am behind on my card making. Don't know how thats possible but I have been meaning to make cards for my downline to celebrate their 2 year demo anniversaries & I am ridiculously late with making my nephews birthday cards. Anyway 1 down 3 to go. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Stamping Again!

Oh my gosh I can't beleive I went almost 3 weeks with out stamping! Big HUGS to my friend Kris that asked if I was ok since she noticed I have been MIA for so long. :) I wasn't sure how things would go when I finally did have a chance to play with my toys again. I wanted to start off slow but before I made this card I actually had to make my entries for Paper Crafts Stamping Royalty Contest! It all came together quite nicely & by the grace of God I made it to the post office 2 minutes before they closed. Entries had to be postmarked by 3/24. You would think I would learn my lesson & stop waiting until the very last minute but as my hubby says I do my best work under pressure. I guess we shall see. Anyway this card was inspired by a beautiful card I saw by Ann Schach & uses a brand new set called Strength & Hope that will be available in the upcoming mini catalog. I will be using this beautiful stamp set for my Customer Stamp n' Chat on April 1st. Now I've got to go make breakfast for the little people. Thanks for stopping by!

Vacation!

Our cruise was great! We went to Cabo San Lucas & Puerto Vallarta. It was nice to relax & have some time with my hubby. He works ALOT so it was amazing to have him all to myself for 10 days. The girls had a great time. I think their favorite part was swimming with the dolphins in Puerto Vallarta! I didn't know dolphins were so big! They can weigh up to 1,000 pounds! It was really amazing to see them up close. They are truly beautiful! I have a ton of unpacking & cleaning to do so I don't have time to play in my stamp room but I am sooo looking forward to it! But I will leave you with a few pictures from our trip:

Cabo San Lucas

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta

Cabo San Lucas

March's Technique Tuesday Cards

Card inspired by France Martin

I really love my Technique Tuesday gals & am honored that they spend an evening stamping with me every month. Its always much needed "adult time" for me. Anyway these were the 2 cards we did last night! Our technique was watercoloring so I showed them how to watercolor with markers & with watercolor crayons. Their cards came out absolutely beautiful!  Well now I am off to get packin for our cruise to Mexico, Woo Hoo! Hope you have a blessed day!