Legacy Room

We toured the main office on our trip to Convention & the Legacy room is always full of so many beautiful things! It's almost like a grown up doll house! I wanted to share a few of the pictures I took there.

 

Feeling better today so now I've got to play catch up on my already crazy To Do list!

Still Christmas in July...

Well kind of. Here is another card we made at the Christmas in July class...

I was hoping to get a bunch done over the last few days but my body had something else in mind. I picked up a stomach bug somewhere & it's been a doozy! Today seems to be a little better so hopefully I'll be back up & running in a couple days. As my husband says "I'm a DOer" & I always like to be doing something. Being stuck in bed is no fun for me especially when I can hear my kids destroying the house. Yikes!
Until next time....



Oh yeah almost forgot some big news MDS 2 is finally HERE!! And you can get a free 30 day trial now!

Also beginning today you can order from the new Holiday Catalog! So all the pretty products I used to create the card above are available through my on line store! Click Here to Shop Now!

And if all that wasn't enough excitement, when you sign up during the month of August you get this super fun Printers Tray kit absolutely FREE! Click Here for more info!

Artisan Swap Case

I got so many beautiful swaps & the Artisan swaps were really amazing! The first one I cased was made by Artisan Award Winner, Cindy Beach. We made a modified version of her card at Technique Tuesday this week. After everyone left there was some extra pieces so I decided to do a stepped up version of the card we just made. Take a look...

I love how it turned out! Thanks Cindy for creating such a beautiful card!

Perfectly Perserved

For tonights class I am featuring 4 of my favorite stamp sets from the Holiday Catalog & it was SOOO hard to just pick 4! But anyway here is the card we will be making using the Perfectly Perserved stamp set & matching dies!

I heard sleigh bells last night & got up to find Santa made an early delivery for some of our Christmas in July guests!! They must have been extra good this year! Wonder what he could have brought.....

Christmas in July!

I'd hope to post earlier but I was a lucky girl & got to have an unexpected date night with my sweetheart. It was only a couple hours but it was so nice & long over due. Anyway I can't beleive how fast this summer is flying by! I just barely squeezed in a Christmas in July class! I am absolutely smitten with the new Holiday Catalog!!!!!

I have been looking forward to this class for weeks! So here is one of the cards we will be making...

This card was inspired by one I saw in the catalog. My friends can choose which image from the Scentsational Season set they would like to use.
I'll be back with more tomorrow!

Wonderful Watercolor!

Here is one of the samples for the sparkling watercolor technique I'm showing at tonight's class! But I just couldn't get the "sparkling" part to show up on camera. But here is the card & it definitely sparkles in person!

My friends will be making a card using this technique & I will share it after the class. Hope you have a great day!

Technique Tuesday!

Just a reminder tomorrow we will have our Technique Tuesday class!!! Focusing on Wonderful Watercolor!! Things are still pretty crazy around here but I'll post a sample if I have time. =)

CONVENTION & CLASSES!

Woo Hoo! So excited to be home! I missed my family a bunch but also enjoyed my time away immensely! I am super excited about all the fun things I learned & new friends I've made! It was so great to meet some of you in person!!! Loved that!
Of course I have lots of delightful projects to share with you plus I'll be launching a whole new set of private class, girls night outs, scrapbook & card clubs!
One of the classes I will be offering is all about making your own paper flowers! I was inspired by a presentation I saw on stage by Carrie Cudney (LOVE her!) & these amazing paper flowers...

Paper flowers are so trendy right now & they are so much fun to make! Making them in the perfect colors to match all your projects & for just pennies will definitely make you smile! So if you're interested in booking the "Fun Flowers" class for you & your friends contact me for more info!
I'll be back soon to announce a brand new Stamp Camp coming in August!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Convention Updates Coming Soon

Hello Friends!
I am so sorry I haven't been able to post any eye candy from convention but I'm having trouble with my computer. :(
But the good news is I will be home tomorrow & I have so much to share with you! So until then HUGS!
~Mercedes

Swaps!

As you all probably know I'm not a fan of making a bazillon of one card. I get crazy bored!! Making the 25 Artisan swaps about drove me batty. Here's some of the flowers I made for that swap.

 I will share the complete card later. Bur for now here are 2 of the cards I made to swap at Convention!

Ok I gotta go pack...Yes I know I'm the biggest procrastinator EVER!!

I'll be back with an update from Salt Lake City tomorrow!!

2nd Project

Just a super quick post. I am so over my head in stuff to do it's ridiculous! I can't beleive how fast Convention snuck up on me. LOL! Anyway on to my last U Stamp project...

These Dahlia embellishments are so fun! As a special Convention Bonus I will be sending a package of these beauties to anyone that places an order online or emails me an order of $50 or more between July 17-22! Tomorrow I will share some of the swap cards I'm taking to Convention!
Hope you're having a wonderful day! 

Card Options!

Its time to stamp the day away!

Saturday July 14 11:30am

Cost $30 for 15 Cards & Envelopes Add additional sets of 5 for just $5!

Please RSVP with card choices by 7/12

Bring your adhesive, dimensionals, & scissors.

Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

Card 4

Card 5

Last SAS Card

I love this new owl set from the holiday mini catalog! My pre order goodies came yesterday & I have been making swaps non stop since. The new color core paper & woodgrain embossing folder are just perfect together! There are SO many amazing products in this mini! I may have to get a part time job to pay for all the toys I want.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Hey Matey

Woo Hoo, its time to check out the next round of amazing U Stamp projects! All the designers are FABULOUS & 3 are even SU Artisan Contest Finalist! So look out for some great stuff coming your way! Like THIS....

Yes I know i'm totally biased since it's my project but it's still pretty cool, right?!

Remember when you sign up for U Stamp not only will you get a full tutorial for my projects but over 40 others!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

SAS Card 4!

#3, #2, #4

Well yesterday was sure eventful! We went to a parade, out to lunch, did a bit of shopping, hubs bbq'd, made fruit salad, potato salad, banana pudding, jello, watermelon lemonade, #3 stepped on a nail, power went out for a couple hours, played hide n seek in the dark, stamped by candlelight, hmmm what else....guess that was about it. All in all we had a fun day minus the nail episode. Whenever #3 gets hurt it usually turns into all 3 of them crying. When we took them to the zoo she got a big splinter in her hand from one of the railings & she flipped out when we tried to take it out. That made all of them start crying. A lady even asked my hubby what had happened. Anyway back to the stamping by candlelight part...

I made a similar card last night while the power was out but changed it up a bit today to make it a perfect Stamp a Stack card. Quick & Cute! I used the exclusive set Reason to Smile that's available during July for only $5! Plus you get a free project sheet! Click below to enlarge & print the project sheet.

                     Flyer                                    Project Sheet

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebration!

SAS Cards 2 & 3

Oh My! This week has been extra crazy! We completely demoed our backyard & when I say we I mean my hubby while I supervised & played water girl. LOL! We had a big deck in the back & a few weeks ago we found a bunch of places where it was totally rotted. My hubby took of 3 days because we were going to go somewhere to celebrate our 8th anniversary but instead he had to spend the days ripping up the backyard. He's been sweatin like a pig, poor guy! Anyway my To Do list is out of control as well with Convention coming up so fast. I was invited to join the other Artisan Finalist in a wow swap. Talk about pressure! Making 25 regular swaps about kills me just thinking about 25 "wow" swaps with a group of the best SU stampers around makes my head spin!!! I still need to do my last tutorial for the next round of U Stamp, 100+ regular convention swaps, 30 swaps for the QC swap group, a gift for my roommate & buddy Steph, plus all the samples for my upcoming classes. Not to mention taking care of all the regular mommy/wifey duties. I feel like i'm barely treading water here. Ok enough about my drama here are 2 more Stamp a Stack cards for the July 14th class!

This one was pretty much cased from a beautiful swap card I received by Laurie Zoellmer.

This one is cased from a couple cards I made recently.  =)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!



SAS Coming Soon!

My kids had VBS today so I had a little time to get started on the samples for the Stamp a Stack class coming up on July 14. I browsed the catalog & found a cute card on pg 43 so I pretty much cased it with  just a few changes.

Thanks for taking a peek today! I'll be back tomorrow!

Artisan Contest!

Super excited to report that I got THE call last night! I was chosen as one of the 20 finalist for the Artisan Award contest! Happy Happy Dance!!! So grateful for the leading of the Holy Spirit on which projects to send! Here is one that I didn't end up sending...

I am so thankful for my friends that encouraged me to try again. Also a big thank you to Connie Collins last years Artisan Award Winner! She saw me at leadership & encouraged me to try again. She told me she had entered 4 times before she finally won!
The 10 winners will be announced on awards night at convention next month. The count down begins!...
Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Summer Starfruit Convert!

I must admit when I first saw Summer Starfruit I was less than excited. Leave it to my super creative friend Lynda to make a georgeous card with it! I loved her card so much I cased a lot of the elements she used to make this...

I love how this card turned out! The new piercing templates are one of my favorite items from the new catalog. It's a simply perfect way to really step up your cards! I also used another of my fav's the new Papillon Potpurri stamp set with matching punch! I LOVE Butterflies!!! My friends will be making this card tonight! Ok now back to getting things ready for tonight's class...
Thanks for stopping by today!

Time for Lemonade!

We have been having lovely summertime weather! I was inspired to do a 3-D cup card for this month's technique class. I hope to have time to make up a few different samples to display but we shall see what time allows. But for now here's the first one...

Thanks for stopping by!

I am really glad this week is about over. My husband had a friend die in a car accident last weekend & the funeral was today. So sad. I stayed home with the girls. I haven't done too much creating but I was so inspired by the new Holiday Mini Catalog that I just had to make a Christmas card.

I do have a lot of projects to finish up this weekend so I'll be back to share later.

Celebrate Summer!

I am finally feeling better & looking more normal. Still not 100% but at least I can go out in public with out scaring anyone. LOL! Thank you Natalie for taking the time to comment. It was much appreciated!
Anyway today I wanted to make a card for a friend that I know has been counting down the days till summer vacation starts! I saw a cute watermelon card in this months issue of Paper Crafts magazine & I thought nothing screams "SUMMER" like watermelon right?

The girls & I have been embracing all the yumminess of summer, taking weekly trips to the farmers market to get fresh fruits & veggies. Our favorite thing to get is big boxes of strawberries! I let the girls eat their fill then I wash the rest, hull them, & pop 'em in the freezer. My hubby & I decided a couple weeks ago to start eliminating heavily processed foods as much as possible. Further fueled by watching the HBO documentary "The Weight of the Nation" about the child obesity epidemic. Did you know one of the best things you can do for your families health is eliminate soda, juices, sports drinks,etc..? Luckily we rarely drink that stuff so cutting it out isn't a huge deal. Its been fun to find healthy alternatives to some of the girls favorites. We have never let them eat a lot of sweets to start with but one of their favorite treats is ice cream! They used to get a half a scoop once in awhile & they were over the moon the other day when I let them have 2 scoops of our new homemade "ice cream". I saw this recipe on pinterest & my kids absolutely LOVE it! It's seriously just frozen bananas!!! Our favorite flavor is strawberry/ banana but they have all been delish! We have been having a lot of protein fruit smoothies which I really enjoy. I also have never seen my kids polish of a bowl of baby carrots & ask for MORE! But its been happening! For their afternoon snack I served the carrots with what my girls now call "Carrot Dip" & they ate it ALL! Here are some of our favorite recipes so far (also blogging them so I don't forget myself)... 

All measurements are just my best guesstimate.

Carrot Dip:

1/4 c. Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/2 sprig Fresh Rosemary (optional) 

1/2 Clove Garlic

1/4 tsp Garlic Salt

Smoothies: (Serves 4)

Strawberry/ Banana

2 Frozen Bananas

4 Frozen Strawberries

1 c Fresh Spinach

1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1 c Milk

Berry/Banana

1 c. Fresh Blueberries

2 Frozen Bananas

4 Frozen Strawberries

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

2 Tbsp Raw Honey

12 oz pkg  Soft Tofu

Tropical

2 Frozen Bananas

1 can Crushed Pineapple

1 Mango

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

1 c. Milk

Another favorite is Chicken Salad but we replace the mayo with greek yogurt!

Chopped Chicken Breast

Cilantro

Red Onions

Greek Yogurt

Dijonaise

served with sliced Avocado! 

Ok I can see this post is probably my longest EVER so I will save the rest for another day.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Lots Going on...

Sorry I've been MIA but its been a roller coaster ride around here. I was planning on posting last week but I had a crazy allergic reaction to some face stuff I put on & I have been looking a lot like this...
 

NOT fun! Seems to be getting worse by the day. It feels like the time my whole face was covered in poison oak. I went to the doctor today & they gave me some cream to put on it so hopefully it starts working soon. Anyway I do have some good news & the card from last week to share. The good news is my Artisan entry made it to SU on time!

We made this card at last weeks get together. This is a case from the SU website. I thought the card was so cute & it was a quickie too! Anyway thanks for taking a peek today. I hope to be feeling better & blogging more soon.

Almost forgot the other good news!!! The 2012-2013 catalog is live! Click here to see it!

New DSP!

I'm still here just ridiculously busy finishing up my Artisan contest stuff. So along with that there tends to be lots of great rejects & this was one of them! If they don't get my hubby's endorsement they don't make it. LOL! I used the new Floral District DSP but this card was beat out by another that uses the same layout. Wish I could show you the other card because I absolutely LOVE it but hopefully it will be on it's way to SU this week.

Anyway just wanted to check in real quick. Also FYI if your attending the Retirement/New Catalog Party next week the date has been changed to May 29th. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...

Wisteria for Mom

Here is the card I made for my mom. It was impossible to capture all the sparkles in a photo. This card was much prettier in person. Ok I'm pooped so off to bed I go. Thanks for taking a peek!

May Technique Tuesday

This is the actual card we will be making at tomorrow's Technique Tuesday class. I love how the Lucky Limeade pops with the Soft Suede! I made another version of this card with Wisteria Wonder for my mom yesterday I will share it tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by today!

Retirement Party!

I can't believe how fast this catalog year has flown by! There are so many things I will be sad to see retired but I'm equally excited to see the new stuff coming out! Here's one of the cards we will be making on May 30th to say bye bye to this cute butterfly punch & matching stamp set.

Also just an FYI: Stamp the Day Away has been postponed till probably next month. This month was just way to busy for me to try & squeeze it in.

Up Coming Classes:
May 15th Technique Tuesday 7pm
May 30th Retirement & New Catalog Party 7pm

Pink Medallion

It was such a perfect day today! I adore warm weather & we spent most of the day playing outside. When it started to cool down I snuck off to my stamp room & actually completed a couple cards without much interuption from anyone...Woo Hoo! Plus my hubby even made dinner & brought it in to me. Can't ask for much more than that! The first card I made is actually for the Artisan Award contest so you'll have to wait to get a peek at that but I will show you the second one...

This is one of our projects for next weeks Technique Tuesday class! We will be using a different color combo though. It was hard to photograph but it came out really soft & pretty in person. I will be sad to see the Medallion stamp retired. It's so pretty & versatile. I am sure it will stay in my collection forever. Well I hope you have enjoyed your day as much as I have!

Until next time...Thanks for stopping by!

Pink Cupcakes

Well I finally stamped something! Woo Hoo! After getting a peek at the new SU catalog I was inspired to case one of my favorite samples from the catalog. I LOVE LOVE LOVE CUPCAKES! When I saw this new hostess set I just had to have it! I recreated the card they had featured with the set & just modified it a little. So cute! We made this last night at my downline meeting.
Ok I'm off to finish up some other projects. Thanks for stopping by!