Happy Birthday Lana Lepinski!!!

Oh... there is this chick. I first met Lana at SCS years ago... I can't remember how many because they just all meld together now (is meld a word?). This sweet girl went out and braved storms to get me some matboard... remember the matboard journals? From that point on, we were true blue friends. LUCKY ME!!!!

I got to meet Lana last September in WI at a stamping retreat. I had THE BEST time of my life with the most awesome women. I was bawling like a baby when I got my first hug.... but for those of you who know me, you know it's not hard to make me cry. LOL My ears were ringing from the screaming. She is even more amazing in person. She makes me laugh like no other.... and brings a smile to my face on even the worst of days.

I really can't describe how giving, caring and truly amazing Lana is, those of you who know her, you KNOW what I'm trying to put into words. I truly feel blessed to have her in my life . I know she will be one chick I grow old together with..... until we can't IM anymore. Then, we'll use the phone more....by then, she just might be home to answer it. Anyway.........

Happy Birthday Lana Lepinski!!!
You are DA bomb of bombs baby!!!!!

Love ya from the bottom of my heart sweet friend! Hope your day is AWESBOMB!!! LOVE the (you know what) outta you girlfriend!!!!


Hope you all have a super Saturday. If you have a chance, just scream out Happy Birthday to Lana. :)

Inky Antics

My good friend Bev Barton sent me some Inky Antics images, a crayon box and some ribbon and gave me a challenge. I LOVE these images and had a lot of fun playing with them. My other good friend Beate, who always takes pitty on me since I'm craft store deprived, sent me a bunch of scalloped punched out shapes. I now NEED those other scalloped punches. Beate is such an enabler!! The paper was a birthday gift from my super friend Heather McNally. It is called The Pocket full of Posies Stack by DCWV. It is beyond beautiful. It has all these raised up spots with glitter. I love the entire stack! I'm so blessed with wonderful friends.... thanks girls!!




The crayon box it wheeled with craft white and my favorite jumbo wheel, Petals... out of the Spring Mini.





If you look closely, you can see that friend is spelled out on the bottom corner of the card with the kitty. I got those from JoAnn's. They are clear peal and stick letters. They show up better IRL. Some of the images were too big or too small for the square scallops, so I either cut the images out, or added the slit punch with a little flower on the side. I love my slit punch... have I said that?




The sun has decided to peek out, and I'm SO happy I can send the kids outside!! I'm going to get my van cleaned out so that we can take a trip to Eugene tomorrow to see my cousin's new sweet baby girl!!!! Costco here I come! The kids are excited to try out a swimming place called The Wave. They are SO ready to get out of the house and do something fun for spring break.

Have a super day!!! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Jumpalina Treat Bag!

At my last workshop, my friend Kathi Horne brought me the cutest little treat bag. It was one of those dollar store bags covered in paper. You can see it here. As she was leaving, we were talking about how cute the bunny was with the punches and it hit me! OMGosh... she would look so cute on a little treat bag! Then, I remembered this little folded pattern that I had tried last month with the Loves Me DS paper! It was sitting on my desk... just waiting for Jumpalina. Kathi and I had so much fun brain storming future projects. I hope we can get together and stamp again soon. I think now that I have Jumpalina, it takes the sting out of not getting that Bunny/Easter set out of the mini.... yah, that's it. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. I really don't NEED that set? Right?????

Jumpalina is attached to the bag with the brads that are also her eyes. She looked kinda lonely without a body, so I gave her one with another circle punch. Her ears are the small and large oval punches, this time, the inside of her ears are polka dotted (Au Chocolat DS paper). The handle of the bag is attached with brads and two daisies punched out with the daisy punch and pink colored brads. The only punch that isn't Stampin' Up! is the little flower barrette in her ear... since she doesn't have hair? LOL. It's a little punch I picked up at Target when I was at a stamping retreat with friends in WI. I love that little punch. The handle is actually close to cocoa card stock, but the photo is kind wacky.

I found the instructions for this box on SCS a while ago. It was originally for a tote purse that would hold 6 cards with envelopes, and I've made little totes with cards as gifts... it is perfect. For the smaller size, I believe this one was 9x9. You can make any size, you just need to start with a square. PERFECT with the designer series double sided paper! Go... try one! :)

Here come Jumpalina Cottontail, hopping down the girly bunny trail......... Spring is in the air baby!!!

Have a super day girls!!

Here are the folding instructions (click on it to see it larger) :

Happy Spring!

I love Spring. Here in Oregon, everything is green, green, green, and the flowers are just beautiful. It is suppose to rain all of spring break, but today, the sun is popping out in between the clouds, so I'm hoping that weather man is wrong.

This was the card we did at my workshop on Saturday. I don't know who the brilliant person was who first discovered that the new round tab punch could be turned into a basket. If it was you, jot me a note and I'd be happy to give you credit and link to your blog or gallery. I first saw the tab punch basket in Tallymom's gallery. There is a link to her gallery in the Here comes Peter post below. The ones that I kept seeing used a weave stamp on caramel or brown card stock to make a real looking basket. I don't have a weave stamp, so I reached for my favorite DS paper. I had to use the items in this month's special with Stampin'Up! so that my customers could pick out a stamp set from the mini at 50% off.

The basket is just punched out with the round tab punch, the handle is both the small oval and large oval punches. Just grab a piece of scrap paper, punch out about 2/3 of the small oval punch, then punch over that cut with the large oval punch. The little rim of the basket is also something I added. My friend Katrina Kopp (she is a stampin' genius) had done that on her punch tab and I thought it added something extra to my little spring basket. You use the round tab punch and punch just the round end portion out on a piece of scrap paper, then you line it up exactly where you just punched out a piece and punch again as long as you want your little edge. The easter eggs are scraps of designer paper and card stock punched out with the small Oval punch. There is a dimensional closed up inside the basket to give it depth and keep it all closed and tidy.


This is the first punch you make for the basket rim.

This is the second and final cut








This isn't a trifold card. The base (pink) is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4. The cool caribbean piece is 4x8 then folded in half, then trimmed 1/2 inch off the right side. Use the slit punch on the top for the closure. To add a little accent to the closure, punch out a circle with the 1/2 inch circle punch and add a colored brad. The cool caribbean card stock is wheeled with craft whisper white using the new petals jumbo wheel. Happy is stamped from the Polka Dot and Paisley stamp set, and the spring stamp is from Everyday Flexible Phrases.

We also made a sour cream container. We've done these before in my clubs, but it's been awhile, and they are just perfect for Easter basket treats. We used a different design in class, but I also demo'd how to do versamark resist on this card. I had the piece left over so I made a sour cream container out of it too. It was very pretty in glossy!

These are super easy!! Just use a piece of 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 piece of card stock, stamp as desired. Place adhesive across the bottom of one long end, and sticky strip along one short side. Peel your sticky strip and roll into a round tube shape and adhere. Squeeze the end that has the adhesive on it together. Put that end into your crimper and roll up and back three to four times. Add your candy, then turn your container the opposite direction, squeeze that end together and run in through the crimper. Punch two holes in that end, run ribbon through. Punch out a couple daisies with the daisy punch and punch a holes in the middle of both. Run both ends of your ribbon through the holes in your daisies and then tie in a knot. Your container is closed nicely and the recipient can get the candy out without destroying the pouch.

Thanks for visiting today!! Hope you all got to stamp this weekend!! Don't forget to contact your Stampin'Up! demo so that you don't miss out on this awesome Spring Fever special!!!

Jumpalina Cottontail!!!

chelemom wins Jumpalina!! Averie insisted on Jumpalina and just would not budge. I think she just liked the way it rolled off her tongue. She jumps when she says it too! :) I have to say that all the names really made me smile... Mchooty Hopper! The boys also like Jumpalina and Little Stinker. Petals was very creative... that was my vote. Man... I always get out voted in this house... I think I should have had another girl to even out the testosterone a little.

Send me your address chelemom and Jumpalina is on her way to her new home!

Thanks so much for playing girls!! And thanks for the cheer!

Thank You Kathi Ann!!

I had a workshop today. I love my hostess club gals.... they are so good to me. This workshop was at one of my friend's church, so everyone was welcome to attend.

I met this very cool chick from SCS... actually, I've met a TON of very cool chicks from SCS, but this one I got to meet a year or so ago when she came to my house to stamp as a guest of one of my club members. It was SO much fun to stamp with her. Come to find out that her parents live in a nearby town called Lakeside and she was visiting. Well, I was THRILLED when she actually MOVED here!!! Unfortunately, she started school at our community college and I rarely get to see her... not to mention stamp with her. Like, pfft.... what's with that? She studies instead of stamps. Yah, well, I still love her. SNORT! Today, she got to come to our little gathering!! And... look what she made for me! How sweet is that? I thought it was totally clever of her to cover that little box with paper. Pink chocolate and Chai tea.... how awesome is that? Thanks so much Kathi Ann! I'm so happy you got to come and stamp with us today!!

I'll share what we did at our meeting soon. And, the clever ideas my girls came up with!!

Hope you all got to do some stampin' this weekend!!

Here comes Peter..... No Wait!

Totally NOT a boy bunny... can't be Peter Cottontail. She is definitely a bunnette? Bunnita? Are girl bunnies still just bunnies? Hmmmm.....I should ask my friend Joni.... who has real bunnies at her house. I think we need to name her! Leave a comment with a name for this cute bunny, and if we (the kids and I) like your name best, this card will be on it's way to your house! I'm picking a winner on Saturday so she can be on her way by Monday. :)

I saw a bunny made by Tallymom on SCS. Click on her name to see her awesome gallery. She does amazing things with punches, and you all know how much I LOVE my punches. Thanks for the inspiration babe!! YOU rock!

This cutie is totally made with just punches! I used the 1 3/8 circle punch for her face, the small and large oval punches for her ears. The 1/2 inch circle punch for the snout (is it a snout? cheeks?), 1/4 inch circle for the nose, and the 1/4 inch square for the teeth. Finally, the double circle for the eyes. Her little bow is just a knot attached with a mini glue dot. The ear is folded over with half of a dimensional in between. You know those little pieces of the dimensionals sheets around the edge? I just cut out one of those... gotta use every piece.

Of course I wasn't done with my punches yet. The bottom of the card is a strip of the new Petals & Paisleys DS paper. Then I cut a piece of cool caribbean card stock 1 1/2 x 4 1/4 and used the slit punch (pushed all the way in) side by side to make that scallop. After you punch it all the way across, then I trimmed it down a bit and placed it over the top of the DS paper. Add some ribbon, and some colored brads (with the spongey mat from the Crafter's Took Kit and the poker thingy) and the bottom was complete. Before all of that though, the whole card was rollered with the Petals Jumbo wheel in whisper white craft ink. I also did the same to the so saffron piece under the bunny. The tab on the side is the spring stamp from Everyday Flexible Phrases on the new Round Tab Punch of course. :)

Okay..... I totally spent A's preschool time on stampin' instead of laundry. I MUST go and get milk and do at least a few loads of laundry.

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail.....now that song will be in my head all day.... SNORT! What is her name?????? Tell me girls!!!!

Good Morning!!

My friend Joni called me last night (love Joni!). She said...."Hi, Cami...... when are you going to post again on your blog?" She always makes me smile. Then, this morning, I woke to some very nice emails from some of you asking if I was okay. THANK YOU! Now, THAT is the way to start the day!! Talk about feeling the love baby......

It seems I was sicker than I thought. I probably should have gone to the Dr. when I couldn't hear out of one of my ears, but I think I'm officially on the mend now. My Dr. moved, last year and I just haven't been in to see anyone else. I really hate going too.... I know, what a baby. I probably would have felt much better way before now if I had just put on my big girl panties and made an appt.

So, now... you guessed it. I have even bigger PILES of laundry. Yesterday I spent the afternoon paying bills and running some errands. I took A (Averie) to her gymnastics instead of my Mom/Husband. Of course then I was beat at the end of dinner and dishes. Today..... must get more milk. A got the last drop in her cereal this morning after her brothers scarfed down their breakfast. I think I need to just invest in a cow. LOL.

I promise to sit down tonight and work on some things..... including a workshop I have on Saturday.

I just want to say thank you so much for the emails and phone calls!! I'm on the mend baby!!!

Have a great day everyone!! I'm off and running this morning!!

More Petal Resist

I'm still feeling pretty icky today, but instead of doing piles laundry, I'm using all my energy on brayering! LOL. The laundry will be there tomorrow right? Who needs matching socks when you are 10?

Versamark resist is one of my favorite techniques. If you look at the previous post, I explain step by step how to do Versamark resist. This one is a little different in that after it dried, I added some images from the Polka Dots & Petals stamps in basic black. I stamped the main images on glossy also, cut them out, and attached these with two eyelets and some black gingham ribbon. The flower is on dimensionals.

I used the Parfait Spectrum pad on this one, but you can purchase a blank one from Stampin'Up! and add any color of reinkers you want.

This one, again, is done with the resist technique and the Cotton Candy Spectrum pad. This time when it was dry, I stamped the flowers from Big Blooms all over in Pink Passion. I love how you can see the flowers under them. I used my Crafter's Tool Kit and did some faux stitching around the edges and pierced some holes and added a few touches of black in the Big Blooms. The main image is a little flower from the Polka Dot & Petals set with a Vintage Brad in the center. The Val stem with the tool kit. I tied the gingham ribbon in a knot, then attached it with a mini glue dot. The friend tab is made with the new Round Tab punch.

Okay.... now I must truly go and at least fluff the dryer. Thanks for visiting today! :)

All images ©Stampin'Up!

Big Blooms

I just have to say it. I LOVE Big Blooms! Okay... now I can move on. LOL. I've been really sick the last couple of days, so it feels good to be at my desk stampin with some bright colors. I don't have my energy back yet. I wish the laundry would just do itself. Good excuse to just sit here and play. :)

One of my favorite things to do is Versamark resist. It's a lot of fun. I took my Petals Jumbo Wheel and ran it across my Versamark pad, then over glossy card stock. You have to be gentle so that you don't smear your image. Let it dry. Then I inked up my rubber brayer with the Cotton Candy Spectrum pad and ran it back and forth over the entire piece. You apply pressure and keep rolling... the colors will blend. After that dries, you wipe gently with a tissue to wipe the ink off of the versamark. I then stamped over the top with stamps from the Polka Dots and Petals set in Only Orange and Pink Passion. I stamped the big flowers with the same colors on glossy card stock, cut them out, layered them and attached them with black Vintage Brads. The friend stamp is from JoAnn's and I used the tag corner punch to make a tag. The flowers are all on dimensionals. I had a hard time getting a good photo because the glossy was reflecting the light, but this is really pretty in person.

Thanks for visiting today..... hope you are all a great day! I need to go and get some laundry going, or the kids will be complaining about no socks. LOL.

Made to Order Trifold Announcements

I wish I had the photos to insert into the announcements, but I don't. Little Aeryn is adorable and so loved. These baby announcements were made for my cousin and their sweet new baby girl. I was so happy that they asked me to make them. Hopefully, you can see the photo of the inside on the bottom right of the photo. The photo of Aeryn will go on the left and show through the window.

This style card is one invented by me in October 2005 for Portland Stampin'Up! Regionals. I call it the tri-fold slit punch.

The whole card is mounted on a piece of 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 card stock. In this case, Close to Cocoa. The main card is cut 4 x 11 and scored at 3.5 and 7 inches. My original had two slit punches, one on the top and one at the bottom, but for this card, I liked the look of just one at the top. If you look at your slit punch, there is a little notch on the outside. If you line up that notch at the top (or bottom depending on which you are doing) edge and then center that notch in between the outer right edge and the edge of the fold, you will get the perfect position for your slot every time. You can add ribbon, buttons, brads, or just leave it plain. You can get really creative with this fold. You can use any punch for the window.

I used the Petals jumbo wheel from the Spring Mini as a background and wheeled the entire Pretty in Pink piece. The designer paper down the side is Rebecca from Stampin'Up! I love that paper! The giraffe is cut out and glued on, but the lion is stamped in Close to Cocoa Craft Ink. Those are both from the stamp set Wild About You. The window is cut out with my Marvy Oval Giga Punch from Ellen Hutson. The announcement portion was printed out with my computer on Whisper White card stock and glued on the inside stamped with the little bird from the Wild About You set. I've left the rest blank so that they can write a note to the recipients. The envelopes of course match with the giraffe on the front and the jumbo wheel across the flap in pretty in pink. :)

Thanks for visiting today!

Welcome Aeryn!

My cousin and his wife had a baby... a very special little girl named Aeryn. I made this card to compliment the announcements I custom made for them.

The letter A was cut with the Cricut Cutting Machine. That is faux stitching around the A with my Crafter's Tool Kit and Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker. The background is the new jumbo wheel Petals from the Spring Mini. I LOVE it..... I'm a sucker for anything flowers. I used my slit punch for the bottom closure, and the tag is made with my Word Window punch. The name on the tag is with my Snap-Stamps from Ellen Hutson. Add a little caramel gingham ribbon and some designer paper (Slumber Party), and my card is complete. The whole card is mounted on a piece of Close to Cocoa and it opens from the bottom.

Nothing like a sweet new baby to start off Spring. Congratulations Roger and Melissa!!

More Gift Certificates

Lucky girl, yes she is! Someone else from my stampin group wanted a gift certificate for the same person! What a great birthday she will have. My customers are so good to me! I really appreciate them.... so, I guess that makes me just as lucky! :)

You can see what the gift certificate looks like here. I made the gift certificate with Microsoft Picture It! in the blank business card template. When it came time to print, I did the same, but added Whisper White card stock in my printer, not actual business cards. Then, I added the tab with the new Designer Series Paper Petals & Paisleys with the new Round Tab Punch. Have I told you that I just LOVE that new punch? SNORT! This is a pocket card that fits into the small open-ended envelopes from Stampin'Up. I cut the card stock 3 1/4 by 11, then scored at 6.5 inches. The rest you can customize depending on how much of the tab you want sticking out. I folded some of the card stock over because I wanted to have some to add those colored brads.

This month, you can get any item in the Spring Mini for 50% off! You Just purchase the Polka Dots & Paisley stamp set, the matching Jumbo Wheel Petals, and the AWESOME Designer Series Double-Sided Paper Petals & Paisleys. Then you choose any item in the mini for half off! How cool is that? You can see the Spring Mini online by clicking here. I used both the paper and HAPPY from the stamp set on this project. I just love DS paper... especially the double-sided. You never have to think of color combos, just pick the colors in the paper and start stampin... you can't go wrong. :)

The rest of the gift certificate is pretty easy. I don't have the Office Accoutrement set YET, but I do have the Accents & Elements Little Reminders tin. I added some colored brads, some die cuts from the tin and some ribbon on the side with the slot punch. To complete the gift, I added a little strip of paper and more of the accents from the tin along the side of the envelope. I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope Katie likes her gift certificates, I know she'll love having a shopping spree with Stampin'Up! Happy Birthday Katie!!

Spring Gift Certificates

I think I am in trouble. I seriously want every single set in the Spring Mini this year. I LOVE the paper. One of my very sweet customers wanted a gift certificate for her friend, so I decided to try something different. I hope she likes it. :)

I made the little "holder" with the Mini Envelope Template from Stampin' Up!. Then, I punched a small portion out of the top with the front part of the Round Tab Punch so that when it's pushed in, the tab part still shows nicely. I used the new double sided paper Petals & Paisleys for the bottom and the envelope and the tab. The cool caribbean card stock is stamped with the cirlce image from the stamp set Polka Dots & Petals in craft white. The flower and the strips on the side and bottom are from the Accents & Elements tin Little Reminders. LOVE that little tin! Also added some grosgrain ribbon, some ric rac and some colored brads. The card opens from the bottom. The name on the tab was done with my new snap-stamps from Ellen Hutson! LOVE those!!!

I printed the gift certificate out on Microsoft Picture It! using the Avery business card template. Of course I just printed it out on whisper white card stock and not business cards, then just trimmed around it, added the tab, then mounted it on card stock.

Thanks for visiting today! Hope you all have an awesbomb day! :)

Bella, Bella, Bella......

How addicting are these cute images from http://www.stampingbella.com? My friend Bev Barton sent me some images to play with after my other friend Lisa Zappa sent me some and I couldn't put them down. Thanks so much girls..... I've been trying SO hard to resist them, but I am probably going to break down and purchase some.

I got some Snap-Stamps from Ellen Hutson last week and just had a chance to use them... they are SO cool ( I know, I know.. I'm so behind the times). The wonderful stamp was sent to me by my friend Val and the font matches pretty closely I thought. It has a flower on the stamp next to the word wonderful, but it just didn't look right so I added a flower over the top with the flower punch from Stampin'Up! The paper is from the SAB scrappin kit Delightful. The tab from the side is the new Round Tab Punch... you all know how much I'm loving that new punch!

I'm including one of the matching coaster fridge magnets along with a matching clippie. You can never let teachers know how much they are appreciated. Now, I just have three more teachers to go. :)

CASE?

CASE (copy and steal/share, everything). I don't know where the term came from and I had no idea what it meant when I first signed up as a demo. I've since then been very careful anytime someone has inspired me to say so. Even if it's isn't considered by some as a true CASE, since I changed things "to make it mine." For me, it's just the right thing to do..... and it FEELS GOOD to mention others that inspire me. I really want to show respect for those artists that share their work so freely. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone would just take a little time to mention the person who shared their work and sparked some creativity that helped them create their own masterpiece? And, if we all did that... would there be a big CASE'ing issue? That's my two cents... for what's it's worth. :)

So... here it goes. My good friend Valerie Stangle is da bomb! She inspires me all the time... more like makes my jaw drop. I totally CASE'd her flowers! You can see her original card here. This is what I love about Valerie's work... she can make even a simple little flower look AMAZING with little details. I am always drawn to her work... you can imagine, she gets CASE'd a lot, and sometimes without any credit, but she keeps on sharing... thank goodness for me! Just wanted to say that I love you Val from Cal and thanks so much for sharing your awesbomb talents with us!

These cards use the new Au Chocolat Designer Paper from the Spring Mini, and the new stamp set also found in the mini called Polka Dots & Petals. The little holes were done with the Crafter's Tool Kit, then I used my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker to add a little color by placing the writing tip in the center of each dot. The little tabbies are made with the new Round Tab Punch. You can see a tutorial here. I also used both Linen and Flannel Plaid background stamps. Two of my favorites. :) The smile on the one tab is from the set Small Sayings out of the Winter Mini... hope you all got that set! You just ink up the smile portion with your marker, huff and stamp. The "My Friend" sentiment is from I believe Micheals.... it was a gift from a friend... Thanks Val! :)

Thanks for visiting today. Hope you have a terrific day! I need my coffee! :)