Herb Garden

For Christmas, I received a Chia Herb garden. About one month later (when I went on a week-long trip & forgot about them), I almost killed all four sets of herbs -- yikes! Luckily, they have started coming back again with a lot of TLC. I just repotted them & labelled them.
I thought you might be interested to see how the labels came out. I just wish I could get a good, clear photo of all four of them on my window sill. They look so cool! (If I can say herbs are "cool.")

Details: I used the ribbon slider die from Cuttlebug and the Word Window punch from Stampin' Up (I was so excited to find that the word window punch would fit into the sliders. I just cut off the extras). I ModPodged it all so that it wouldn't get ruined during the daily watering. I used Choc Chip card stock and Very Vanilla (although it looks like white in my photo). And I attached the labels with Pop up glue dots.

Sweet Baby Girl

My friend was due to have a baby this month, so I decided to go ahead and make the card. I just hope she really did end up with a girl!DETAILS: Regal Rose & Pretty in Pink cardstock; Palette O'Prints paper; Cuttlebug ribbon slider & giraffe; SU flirt ribbon; Everyday Flexible Phrases & Sweet Shapes stamp sets; mini glue dots; 2way glue & dazzling diamonds (of course).

Bracelet

I was working on a little craft with my 4 year old and we had some left-over leather. I looked at it, looked at my Cuttlebug, then had an idea! Yep, it worked. I used the flower die and cut out a cute leather flower! My daughter even did it herself. Then we added a CTMH flower with a vintage brad (punched a 1/16" hole first). Finally, we poked the brad through a piece of pink grograin, and . . . .VOILA! I cut the ribbon long enough to tie around her wrist. She loves it! How easy and cute is that? : )

Happiness

I just love that white shimmery cardstock from SU, but it's so difficult to take a good pic of it. I'm not going to say what this card is for, but I'll tell you how I made it!

Details: Shimmery white cs; non SU blue cs; deco paper; slit punch (to create scallop); celery narrow organdy ribbon; CTMH flowers; vintage brad; watercolor wonder crayons (for stems); night of navy ink; glue dots & stick strip.

A Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peak of Stampin' Up's new IN COLORS for 2008! FYI -- Round 2 (begins Aug 1st, but rsvp by July 15th) of my Stamps in the Mail program will feature at least 2 of the above colors (maybe 3) as well as two totally new stamp sets and some new accessories from the upcoming catalog!!

There's so much new to celebrate in July, I can hardly stand it. The preview catalog comes out in just a matter of weeks. If you would like a preview catalog, you must book a workshop or class in June -- catalog OR in-home -- and I will provide them to you for FREE!

Present

This is the present that went with the TMNT card. I thought something kind of funky with stars and more copper cording might look "cool" for my 7 year old nephew. (Don't mind the fingers -- those are my 4 year old daughter's.)DETAILS: SU wrapping paper; star wheel s/ ballet blue ink cart.; basic black & yoyo yellow cardstock; copper cording.

This was actually kind of fun and super simple. Boys don't want bows on their presents, right? Doesn't really matter what the outside looks like anyway . . . I know he'll like the inside! ( I envision that star being flung across the room after it's torn off the present -- so my apologies to his mother!)

Graduation Card

This is a graduation card I created for my husband's dear friend's son. When we received the graduation announcement two days ago we could hardly believe it. My husband kept saying, "no, no!" (Not that the young man is graduating, but that he is old enough to graduate!) hee. . . hee. . . I guess that means we are getting older.
Details: All Year Cheer III (inside)stamp set; The Art of Life stamp set; Naturals Ivory & Chocolate Chip cardstock; Recollections Deco paper; Twill tape; Hodgepodge; tab & oval punch; craft ink (think I actually used ballet blue); vanilla embossing powder & heat gun; sticky strip. (I know there's flecks of embossing powder around the sentiment. . . I actually liked it and left it to be embossed. In person, the card looks much "cooler.")

This is a pocket card. I trimmed the front panel a bit shorter so the striped pocket would show. Inside, I just adhered a piece of deco paper with an oval punched out, using sticky strip around 3 edges. I stamped the sentiment directly on the gift card holder from Borders with Stazon & added a tab that says "for you."

FYI: In order to line up the greeting to come through the oval perfectly . . . before I adhered the pocket, I turned the piece over and placed the gift card under. I used the oval as my guide, I stamped the sentiment. Since it was on the back, any mistakes I made don't show in the final product!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

So the only stamped part of this card is inside, but I love the way it came together. (It helps to have a hubby who can draw!!)This card is for our nephew's bday this week, so hopefully it'll make it into the mail tomorrow!

DETAILS: TMNT image colored with SU watercolor wonder crayons; elegant eggplant & basic black cardsdtock (the other color is non-SU, so not sure of the color); copper cording; 1/16" punch; black vintage brads; dimensionals. (Inside I stamped "Happy Birthday".)

My new tote!

So maybe you're thinking this isn't stamping related, right? Well, I needed something to carry my SU catalogs in from time to time. (Ok, so it's going to be my main purse, but I AM going to carry catalogs in it!)This tote was handcrafted by Jennifer Church of Ever Sew English. Her quality is superb. What is so cool about her business is that you can just order a ready made tote that you like OR you may design one yourself from her basic patterns and fabric samples. (I designed mine at a "tote gathering" a friend of mine had.)

Here's the inside.
I had her add a "cell phone pocket" -- the blue one -- and there's also two others on the other side.

If you're in the Fredericksburg, VA area, I HIGHLY recommend booking a "tote gathering" with her. The personal experience of designing your tote is great. No, I don't get any royalties or commission from sending you to her site. I just like to highlight home businesses that I believe are great to spend your money on from time to time!

Ok, now I'm thinking I should make some cards based on this tote -- colors, layout, etc. Isn't it funny how everything we see becomes a possible card idea?? I even jotted down a color combo during a Beth Moore Bible Study (wall colors and decorations of the church sanctuary where she was speaking) -- Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa & Cool Carribean. Look for a card soon with those colors. . .

Sorry!

So sorry, everyone!

I've been working on my OTHER work -- transcription -- lately. I transcribe oral histories (like career interviews of generals and such) for the USMC's History Division. I just finished a 118 page session (turned in late last night), so I am going to devote this week to playing with my children (and blogging, too, of course!).

Look for some new posts later tonight (after the kiddos are in bed). Oh, I'll post a picture of something I'm going to pick up this afternoon -- a new "tote" that I ordered. I'll have more details on that soon . . . in the meantime, you can check out Ever Sew English. Honestly, you have to see these totes in person.

Oh my . . . I'm getting anxious to go get my tote now!