Sketch Frenzy Friday - July 30

Welcome to Sketch Frenzy Friday!  Today's sketch is brought to us by Tess Davis.  I really liked making this card today.  You'll notice, I actually followed this sketch.  It doesn't happen often, does it?  :-)

This card is all Rich Razzelberry, one of my favorite colors in the Brights family.  The card base is 3" x 6", a size that I don't play with as often as I should.  Did you know we even carry envelopes for cards this size?  I have a couple packs that I had tucked away but they're giong to be getting lots of use pretty soon!  This card size would be great if you're giving a cash gift!  It's just perfect.

I created the button using a Big Shot die.  The button was just the right size for this card.  I layered three card stock buttons together using Tombo adhesive and tied the center up with some Linen Thread.  To add some fun accents, I pulled out my new Illuminate Top Coat and covered my new button and accented the stamped berries.  This new product is a lot cooler than I thought it would be.  It's made its way to my accessory bag so I have a feeling you'll be seeing lots more of it in my upcoming creations.

Card Recipe
Stamps - Just Believe
Ink - Rich Razzelberry
Paper - Rich Razzelberry Card Stock, Whisper White, Card Stock, Brights Designer Series Paper Stack
Accessories - Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Rectangle Clearlit, Buttons #5 Sizzlit, Big Shot, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink Illuminate Top Coat, Linen Thread, Stampin Sponge

Be sure to continue to follow along with the rest of the Sketch Frenzy Friday bloggers!  Kim's blog is next on the list.

Simply Square

Square is the place to be :)  I love this note card set.  It's totally simple, quick and easy!  The new Newsprint Designer Series paper makes for a great, old time look to the cards.  Of course, they're mounted on my new favorite color, Cherry Cobbler!!  The box is my own design.  It holds all six of these cards with envelopes or will hold 10 cards nicely without the knot.  Enjoy the box design.  The starting page size is 8-1/4" x 11".  I'd love to see how you're able to make it work into your own card set designs!!

Card Box

Convention 2010 Blog Scavenger Hunt - WIN PRIZES!!

My adventure in Salt Lake City is finally over. I don’t say finally in a bad way, it just feels like I was gone from home for a month instead of a week  I had an incredible trip. I met so many people and saw hundreds, possibly thousands of new ideas and projects from demonstrators from across the continent. I leave the 2010 Stampin’ Up! Convention excited, rejuvenated, and full of ideas that I’m thrilled to share with all of you!!

So, I promised some goodies, didn’t I? Well, I’m living up to that promise but all good things come to those who work for it!! Are you ready for a blog scavenger hunt? If you’ve been a loyal blog reader while I’ve been away on my trip, this should be a piece of cake! If not, you may have to make some guesses because I’ve done a sneaky thing…I’ve blocked off some of the information on my blog!! If you’re a Feedburner subscriber, you should have all of my blog posts in your email. If you’re not a subscriber, you may want to go to the right sidebar on my blog and sign up. It’s free and easy! You’ll get notified by email every time I post a new message on my blog. You’ll never miss a special blog scavenger hunt question again!

Here’s how it’s going to work. Answer ALL of the questions in the scavenger hunt. If you don’t know the answer, guess! What’s the worst thing that can happen? There are bonus activities, too! You can get extra credit points by participating in the challenges and activities. Entries need to be in my email box by Saturday, July 31 at Noon. The person with the most points will win this fun Stampin’ Up! gift PLUS $25 in merchandise from the 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog that launches on September 1!! How fun is that? In the event of a tie, a winner will be selected using a random number generator. Demonstrators outside of the Korner Krazy Stamper group are not eligible to enter. I encourage all customers to play along!! I will also draw a second place winner from all entries for a special “consolation prize”!!

Are you ready to scavenge my blog? On your mark…Get set…GO!!!  Convention 2010 Blog Scavenger Hunt

Prize Pack – SU! expandable trash basket, SU! Ruler, SU! Key Chain, Level One Hostess Set from the Summer Mini, $25 Merchandise Certificate for the Holiday Mini

This is a picture of...

my hotel from the front of the convention center.  It was an absolutely wonderful location.  It's a little old but you can't beat the walk on a 100 degree day!  You know the only problem with this photo?  I took it right about the time my flight should have been taking off from Salt Lake City.  Thanks to weather in Birmingham, AL, (huh?) the plane that was supposed to leave Salt Lake City at 6:50pm was running late and wouldn't get me to Denver before my connecting flight left.  Southwest gave me the option of flying out at 3:45, leaving convention over 2 hours early or rebook for tomorrow.  So guess where I am?  You guessed it!  I'm in Salt Lake City until tomorrow morning.  Oh well. I got to spend another evening with Linda and some new and old stampin' friends alike.  I'll be honest, girls, I'm ready to lay my head on my own pillow, curl up in my own bed, hug my children and pet my dogs.  This has been an incredible experience.  I'm so glad I've been able to experience so many new and wonderful things.  I'm done now :-)

My plan for tonight's post was going to be details on how to play along with Kelli's convention experience blog scavenger hunt.  But, since I had no airplane ride to write it, I can't post it!  That will be tomorrow's post instead.  I'll bring out all of my wonderful goodies and post info on how my downline and my customers can win some cute prizes!!

Off to bed. I'll be dreaming of stamping IN MY OWN STAMP ROOM :-)

Sweet sweet paper

Another day down in fabulous Salt Lake City.  I can hardly believe I've been here nearly a week!  Time has flown by so quickly.  I just finished packing my bags...and gosh am I glad I brought an empty suitcase because it is officially FULL!!  Tomorrow morning I'll be checking out of my hotel, spending my last day at my very first Stampin' Up! Convention and heading home to see my kids...who I miss dearly!!  This has truly been a wonderful experience, one I will not soon forget.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!  I'm sure it will be more wonderful, amazing things!

Today was packed full of learning. (Read - not a heavy picture day for the events but I've got other good stuff to share!)  My day started out with breakfast for the Recruit Crew.  Supervisors and Senior Supervisors were invited to join a program focused on helping us grow and build our businesses.  Because we met certain milestones (growing our teams), we were invited to have breakfast with the SU! corporate team.  Shelli was there as were Dale Fillmore, Jill Kocherhans, Mark Jessen, Carrie Cudney and a host of other members of the SU! team.  It was nice to hear the experiences of other demonstrators with the Recruit Crew and share successes and learnings.  I finally met another demonstrator from the Chicago area during breakfast! I was kind of starting to think we were the only ones here!

The morning general session was really very cool.  Brent Steele, the Creative Services "guy", came out strumming a banjo, ready to show us some amazing projects.  He focused on Halloween projects from the new Holiday Mini Catalog.  Seriously, people, this is some cool stuff!!  There are amazing products launching on September 1.  I'm generally not a big Halloween decorator but these projects really made me start to rethink my "only decorate for Christmas" philosophy!  Brent made a cool skeleton garland and some super cute luminaries.  There were pumpkins and trees and favors, oh my!

Pam Morgan shared some really great workshop projects with us next.  I can't wait to be able to implement some of these great projects in some upcoming workshops (remember the extra $25 you get in August?)  I really love the Christmas gift tags she showed as a fabulous workshop make-n-take.  Again, more items from the upcoming Holiday Mini catalog were showcased and wouldn't you know...I fell in love with ALL OF THEM!  I'm pretty sure you're all going to love this mini.  It's one of the best yet, full of brillian new designs and tons of new product!  Demonstrators, you can preorder all of these awesome new products on August 1.  Everybody else, you've got to wait until September 1...sorry!

After lunch, we learned lots of great tricks and tips for using some of our wonderful colors and products.  One of my favorite presentations was by Kristin Kortonick, a demonstrator from New Jersey.  She had some awesome projects made exclusively from the new starter kit.  Stampin' Up! has really done a great job bundling up some great products to give a new stamper or aspiring demonstrator a wonderful array of supplies to make lots and lots of beautiful cards. Simple and elegant was the name of the game. Anybody could make these cards and I think that's what appealed to me so much.  I really wish I was in my stamp room right now because I'd be whipping up these exact samples right now!!

So, who is that playing kissy face on the sample board?  It's none other than our very own Linda and husband David on their 10 year anniversary!  During all of SU!'s events, they put up wonderful inspiration boards featuring displays of cards, scrapbook pages, and all sorts of 3-D items.  People from all around the country send in samples and SU! takes the best of the lot and puts them up for everyone to see.  And as you can see, my very favorite upline is featured on the sample board :)

One of the awesome displays at this year's convention is the Color Confections product showcase.  This amazing display is full of yummy, tempting treats...all made from paper!!  These cupcakes are my favorite, I think.  Seriously, how cool is this?  I can absolutely envision turning thse beautiful and elegant pearl adorned cupcakes into fun bold and bright party favors.  The very first photo in this post is a set of candies made from cute little boxes, ribbons, and our Simply Adorned charms.  These are also on my list of things to make as soon as I get home.  It's really too bad I'll have house chores and things to take care of.  My to do  list from convention is getting pretty long!  All of the creative inspiration that's been overflowing my brain this week will keep me busy for months!!  It's a good thing I took lots of pictures so I can remember some of this inspiration!

Tomorrow is another early morning.  We have really grown fond of our seating arrangements for General Session. If we're not there waiting when the doors open, we may actually have to sit somewhere else!  So, it's a muffin, yogurt and coffee to go.  I am really excited to find out what the last day of convention will bring for us.  I hope it's filled with wonderful surprises...and free stamps :-)

Nightie night all!  Happy Stamping!!

Sketch Frenzy Friday - July 23

It's Sketch Frenzy Friday once again.  Today, I'm sketching from Salt Lake City, Utah at the annual Stampin' Up! Convention!!

Today's sketch was provided to us by Kim Innis.  If' you'd like to move forward to Kim's blog, go ahead and click here.

I've pulled an old favorite out for this week's sketch.  This Vintage Vogue card is a regular go to for me.  I made this card as one of my swaps at Leadership back in January.  It's become a regular go to design for me.  I've always loved the Versamark Resist technique and I think this card really shows off the technique well.  If you missed the tutorial, click here to see exactly how I made the background for this card and give it a try yourself!!

Share What You Love

...is the theme of this year's convention.  It's been all about sharing, caring, learning and having a wonderful time swith friends new and old.  Today was the first day of classes and the general convention session.  Linda and I got the nose shot to commemorate the start of a grand day! The day was packed full of learning so it's not been a heavy picture day.  I did get to go back to Momento Mall and grab some goodies for my customers, my downline, and some special treats for some special people!

Just announced today by Shelli, an amazing Hostess Special for the month of August.  When you host a $350 workshop, anytime between July 27 and August 31, you will receive an additional $25 in FREE hostess credit!  That means you'll get a MINIMUM of $65 in FREE hostess merchandise, a Level 1 or Level 2 Hostess Set of your choice, and all of the fun that comes with spending an evening with your friends and family.  I booked two workshops this afternoon while I was here at Convention.  August is going to be a busy month!!

Sadly, it's going to be a really short post tonight.  I'm beat.  I'm off to bed very early tonight.  I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow that again starts before the crack of dawn. (Have I mentioned I'm really not a morning person?)  I won't head to bed without leaving you a little inspiration.  Check out these cupcakes made entirely out of paper!  How stinking cute are they?  I can't wait to get home so I can grab my punches, my paper and my glitter and start creating some of the yummy things I've seen.

I'm having breakfast with the Recruit Crew first thing tomorrow morning.  I need to be bright eyed for that adventure!  So, until tomorrow night...Happy Stamping!!

And it begins...

What a crazy, crazy day it has been!  Today is the official start of Convention 2010 and right now, I'm totally exhausted...but in a GREAT way!!

We started our morning bright and early with a nice hot breakfast at the hotel and a quick jaunt over to the convention center to get in line for Momento Mall!  The official opening of the mall was 9:00am.  I was fortunate to earn an incentive to get in at 8:00am.  But, we got over and in line before 7:00am.  Man or man, was that ever a good idea!  The lines got nuts but it was well worth the wait.  The fun toys and great new product were just incredible.  I was so excited to be able to get in, grab my goodies and get out before anyone in the general admittance was allowed in.  I got LOTS of great goods but I don't want to spoil any surprises so I'll keep a little to myself for a while.  Just know I had a lot of fun shopping!!

One of the awesome benefits we get at convention is a cool, special, only available to convention attendees bag!  This year's bag is a vinyl messenger bag.  It's bright orange and pink.  There are lots of great pockets and crevaces to carry around the essentials.  I'm totally in love with this bag (and NO Mickey, you can't have it!!)  The bag comes packed with materials, pins, pens, and FREE STAMPS!  One of the free stamp sets this year is Just Believe, possibly my favorite new stamp set out of the new catalog.  I can't wait to see what kinds of make-n-takes we'll be doing with this set that I'll be able to bring home and share with you!

Today I swapped, met lots more new stampin friends, and also had an opportunity to visit the Stampin' Up! home office in Riverton, UT.  Tell me with this view out your office window you'd be able to get any work done?  Another simply breathtaking background, I'd say.  The tour was so wonderful.  I'll definitely blog about it in more detail at a later date.  We saw our Demonstrator Support center, the place where the incredible ideas happen, and got a full rundown of the distribution center operations from the Warehouse Operations Manager himself!  It was such an amazing experience to hear all about how it your orders go from my computer, through the pick lines, and off to UPS with incredible ease and precision.  Cool, cool stuff!!  I'm so glad I had the chance to experience it.

Tonight was "Flower Power" a full blown 60's themed party.  That was a real hoot.  Great music. Lots of energy.  I tried my hand/foot at Twister (and failed miserably), danced to amazing classics, and had an all around great time.  When Stampin' Up! throws a party, they really throw a party!  Games, face painting, prizes...Linda won a wonderful stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog!  Nothing for me but I'm sure my time is coming!  Oh, there were also a TON of great samples and incredible projects on display.  I have over 150 photos that I need to weed through before I share them.  I promise I'll post some of those goodies tomorrow!

I'm totally off to bed. Tomorrow is the first day of our general sessions and great classes.  But before I go, I will say that if you're ever in Salt Lake City and have an opportunity to go see the Stampin' Up! campus, do it, but also stop at the Sno Shack.  We got the best snow cones this side of the Mississippi!  Thanks, Susan!!

Until tomorrow, Happy Stamping!

A stampin kind of day

Stampers are crazy.  It's you can totally tell who they are, too!  You walk down the street and you can just telll from the sparkle in their eye and their sheepish grin that they're just like you :)

We met some new friends at breakfast this morning.  The hotel restaruant was just full of people like us. Everyone is so gracious and welcoming, you just sit down and enjoy a meal with new friends.  Our new friend Dottie had on the coolest pair of earings and from one stamper to another...you can tell an awesome project from a mile away.  Dottie's earings totally qualified as "awesome project"!  She made these earrings from chip board.  Aren't they awesome?  I just loved these.  They're so creative and so colorful.  With all of our great colors, I'm thinking I could make myself a pair to match every outfit!

Our afternoon was spent "shoe box swapping".  My shoe box project was a tutorial using the new magnetic sheets, the Top Note die, and an awesome rose made from the Ornament punch.  I think all of my swap mates enjoyed the project so I wanted to share it with all of you too!!  Enjoy the Scribd file below and make the whole project or just practice making the rose!

We had another fun night stamping.  We made some really cool projects.  I'm bringing another fun class home from this event.  Wait til you see it.  I'm not giving anything away about the project details but trust me...you're gonna love it!  Tee hee hee :)

Joyce and Linda (and everybody else we're with) have really made this trip and the stamping we're doing so much fun.  Stamping is always more fun with friends.  We're making so many new friends and learning amazing things.  The best part, though, is that it's only going to get better from here.  Tomorrow is the "official" start of the Stampin' Up! 2010 Convention.  We'll be up at the crack of dawn, eating breakfast early, and heading over to start our incredible adventure!  This is my first trip to convention and I'm SOOOO excited!!!  I can't wait to report again with the official convention excitement!

Enjoy my new tutorial :)

Top Note Rose Note Holder

Us Goop!!

Day 2 in Salt Lake City was an absolute blast!!  Our morning was full of stamping and creative fun and the afternoon/evening was the greatest reason I joined Stampin' Up! in the first place.  We weren't stamping.  We weren't crafting.  We were sharing...our lives, our friendship and our love of all things friendship!

My roommate and sideline, Joyce, and I were running a few minutes late to breakfast.  Our plan was to meet Linda and our other traveling companions for breakfast at 7:00am.  Linda's response...Us goop!  Thank you, iPhone.  You gave me today's theme :)

We spent the morning stamping with the Late Night Stampers group.  We created 6 incredible projects!  I really loved them all!  This one is my personal favorite!  It's an incredible expandable scrapbook (or really big greeting card) that I can't wait to share in an upcoming class. We made a card folder, a pizza box, a funky tote, an explosion box, and a super cool scalloped circle multi page "thingie".  It was such fun to create with so many new people and see the great ideas that so many people were willing to share.  Being my first experience with the LNS group and their preconvention events, I can definitely say I enjoyed it!

After a very full morning of stamping, we headed for some lunch and relaxation. Toasters has some amazing sandwiches. If you're ever in the SLC area, I highly recommend it!  Sit, talk, laugh and what's next?  Starbucks, of course!  Joyce, Linda and I ventured out into the melting sun to find ourselves some good old caffeine!  A few soft chairs and great company made for a wonderful afternoon.  It was great to catch up with Linda (since she up and left us!) and share stories and ideas about our businesses and creative endeavors.

I love exploring new cities and all of the cool things they have to offer.  Here in SLC, pedestrian safety is very important! The sign next to Linda reads, "Look left and right when crossing.  For added visibility, carry orange flag across with you"  Sure enough, there's a little depot across the street with a matching sign and place to put your orange flag.  These things are everywhere!  I think it's definitely an idea we should take back to Chicago and see if we can get somebody to pay attention.  Of course, where we're from, the gapers delay caused by all the crazy drivers watching a group of krazy stampers cross the street with caution flags would probably cause an accident!!!

Our hotel is right across the street from the convention center.  We saw some banners that have just been hung and took advantage of the photo opportunity.  Share What You Love is the theme of this year's convention and this little heart flower is it's logo.  I really think it embodies the simplicity of the craft we all love to partake in.  I've taken better photos but you know what...I don't care!!  I'm here!!  I'm soaking up everything that my first experience in Salt Lake City has to offer :)

Tomorrow is our only "sleeping in day."  We're not meeting for breakfast until 9:00am.  Crazy, right??  We're going to go do some more stamping around 11:00, grabbing a little lunch snack, then heading off for what I'm sure will be an awesome shoe box swap.  Another little break after that and then we'll be back to stamping more fun and exciting projects.  I can't wait to share my favorites with you again tomorrow.

I'm off to bed now.  My feet and body have had it for one day.  Check back in tomorrow for more "goop" on my SLC adventure!! 

Welcome to Salt Lake City!!

Ok.  This is just beautiful!!  Coming from the midwest, the mountain scene is just incredibly breath taking for me.  If I had the option to stare at this every day, I think I would be the most unproductive girl EVER!!

We arived safe and sound in Salt Lake City.  The flight was nice.  We had a little bit of a lumpy landing but it wasn't so bad.  Our rental car was upgraded from a Taurus to an Explorer.  Nice perk :)  The hotel is nice.  It's quaint, quiet, and very comfortable.  The front door of our hotel is literally right across the street from the front door of the convention center.  Excellent planning...not my planning but still excellent! It was 103 degrees this afternoon.  Holy moly.  I swear I think I might melt if this keeps up but I'm very thankful that I have air conditioning in all of my stamping areas.

Tomorrow starts our first day of pre-convention activities.  We're headed to a big Stamp Camp in the morning.  I'll post pictures of all of our great projects.  I'm hoping to do a little sight seeing in the afternoon or maybe a little R&R.  Who knows? We may just have to see what tomorrow brings!

I don't have a whole lot to report in on today.  It's really been a get here, get settled kind of day.  I really wish you all could have come with me on my trip to the Stampin' Up! 2010 Convention!  Since you can't all be here, I'll bring you along on a virtual journey.  Check here everyday and read all about the fun things I'm doing.  But, be sure to read every day.  Leave a comment and let me know you were here!  When I get home on Sunday, I'll send you on a virtual scavenger hunt about the fun and excitement that was had during this week's Convention. I will be awarding my customers and downline members with special prizes for answering the scavenger hunt questions correctly!  But, the only way you'll be able to win is if you visit my blog daily for special updates that are only available for that day!

Join me on my trip!!  I can't wait to have you along for a wonderful ride that you can only get at Stampin' Up! Once you see all of the incredible fun, you'll surely want to be sure you're here with me live next year!!

I'm off to bed.  It's going to be a big day tomorrow!!  Happy Stamping!!

Technique Thursday - Distressing Essentials - Thursday, August 12

Technique Thursday – Distressing Essentials

Thursday, August 12 at 6:30pm

Cost: $30

Class fee includes your very own Distressing Essentials Tool Kit

Payment is due by the RSVP date.  Cash, Check or Paypal only.

RSVP no later than Tuesday, August 3

Distressing Essentials includes tools that make it easier than ever for you to create a distressed, vintage appearance on your projects. Includes the following tools:
■ Sanding block and emery board for distressing Designer Series paper or smoothing the edges of paper that has been adhered to chipboard■ Precision files for sanding intricate die cuts and sanding in tight areas■ Blendable vintage ink and stamp for creating an aged appearance: Tea Stain, Charcoal, Mahogany, Navy ink (Not suitable for Scrapbooking)

The "Vintage" look is all the rage in paper crafting today.  Learn to use the Distressing Essentials Tool Kit to distress, age, and enhance your paper crafting projects.  In this class we will work with Designer Papers, chip board, and fun new techniques that will make your projects pop!

Class size is limited to the first 10 registered attendees.  Payment must be made by the RSVP date because this is a product based class.  Refunds not available after RSVP deadline.

To pay via Paypal, visit the Special Class Registration page on my blog here à http://kellistamps4u.blogspot.com/p/special-class-registration.html

Be sure to send me an email to let me know you're planning to attend this fun and much anticipated class!!

Sketch Frenzy Friday - July 16

Today is my sketch :)  I've always liked this layout format and i'm so glad I've been able to bring it to Sketch Frenzy Friday!!

Today's card is made with the Newsprint DSP.  I think this paper has so many possibilities!!  So much fun and really different than what I'm used to working with.  It's certainly not what I'd consider my "style" but I'm getting there!!

I'll be teaching a Distressing Essentials Class soon and you can bet, this card will be a part of it.  What do you think?

Yeah BUNCO!!!

This is Andrea.  She had a GREAT time at Bunco on Sunday!!  Andrea won $40 in Stampin' Up! merchandise by having the most buncos during our game.  I think she had 3.  Way to go, Andrea!!

Congratulations to everyone who came to our fun day.  A good time was had by all!  We had 20 Korner Krazy stampers rolling dice and screaming and yelling as they tried to win a coveted spot at the Winners Table or just try to beat their neighbor :)

The more players we have, the more prizes and merchandise I get to give away!!  Next time, let's see if we can get 40 players!  That means you can tell you friends, tell your neighbors, and come on out for a great day of stampin and bunco...otherwise known as Stampin' Bunco!!  With 40 players, I can guarantee the Most Buncos prize will be $100 in Stampin' Up! merchandise to a single winner!

The next Stampin' Bunco will be held on Sunday, October 10 at 1:00pm.  Mark your calendars and register today!

Sketch Frenzy Friday - July 9

More inspiration gone astray from today's sketch :)  When I saw this sketch, it sparked some a great picture in my mind.  This is actually the first time I've pulled out Extreme Elements.  Can you believe it's been sitting in a drawer UNMOUNTED??  Sheesh!

I love following sketches.  I think they are great for inspiration.  On days where I'm feeling less "inspirational", I'll follow the sketch exactly and see what happens.  Other times, the sketch just sparks a fun idea...with all the elements of the sketch of course!  The latter is what this sketch did for me today.  Thanks to Sharon Field for providing this week's sketch!

This card is mounted on Cherry Cobbler card stock.  The squares are Basic Black and Sahara Sand.  The ink used is Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Versamark and Champaign Mist Shimmer Paint (cool, huh?)

Follow along with Sketch Frenzy Friday by visiting Kim's blog.

Aged Newsprint Meets Eleanor Roosevelt

I have really enjoyed working with the new Newsprint Designer Series Paper. I wasn't sure if I'd like it.  That generally isn't really my "style".  I was wrong.  I LOVE it!  I've made a pact with myself that I'm not going to hoard supplies this year.  So, I'm using this awesome new DSP at my Bunco event on Sunday to create make-n-takes for 20 people.  I hope they love this paper just as much as I do because it has really been a mental challenge for me to cut that much paper and not have a whole pack as a backup for myself :-) For this particular card, I also incorporated the stamp set Favorite Thoughts from the Summer Mini Catalog.  I like all the quotes in that stamp set.  It is very woman empowering and inspiring.  This particular tea bag quote is for sure my favorite.  I just love strong tea :-)

I've really enjoyed agining the Newsprint Designer Series Paper. It's easy to do and I think it gives the paper a cool look.  The edges of the DSP on this card have been inked with More Mustard ink to give them an aged, almost tea stained look.  To continue to emphasize the aged theme, I crumpled the corner of the DSP and ripped the Basic Black layer immediately underneath it.  Don't be afraid to crumple your paper!  It's really quite simple.  Start by accordian folding your corner then "squish it" between your fingers -- "squish it" is a very technical paper crafting term that you should absolutely put into your descriptive vocabulary!  I added a little snail underneat the "squish" just to hold the corner in place.  I love the depth that this technique gives to the card.  It adds a lot and really uses only the paper you were planning to craft with in the first place.

The finished product holds a tea bag on the front of the card.  I hope you take some time to "squish" your paper, age some Newsprint and enjoy a great cup of tea with a good friend!

Card Recipe
Stamps - Favorite Thoughts
Cardstock - Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Basic Black
Designer Series Paper - Newsprint
Ink - Basic Black, More Mustard
Accessories - Big Shot, Bigz Scalloped Envelope Die, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Gold Brad, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Stampin Sponge, Stampin Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, SNAIL Adhesive

Welcome, Owen!!

My little nephew is here!!  Owen made his way into the world on Saturday night, a few short minutes away from being a 4th of July baby!

He's so sweet and so wonderful!!  It's been a long time since we've had a baby in our family.  My baby is 12, so I guess it's been 12 years :-)  Amazing how time flies.

My heart is full of joy!  It's incredible how in love you can fall with a baby in less time than it takes to blink an eye. My eyes are still filling with tears thinking about the incredible little guy!!

He went home with Mom and Dad today.  Everybody is doing great.  My sister feels good and my brother-in-law seems to be getting the hang of things pretty well.  They're a beautiful family and I'm so happy for them all!

Welcome, Owen!!  Your Auntie Kelli loves you very, very much!!

Sketch Frenzy Friday - June 2

It's Sketch Frenzy Friday once again!!  Today's sketch was designed for us by Connie Stewart.

Since I've gotten so good at totally changing around the orientation of the sketch, I did my best to actually follow the outline on this card...and then I changed it up a bit.

I used the stamp set Friends Never Fade, a new set in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog.  Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper serves as the real focual point on this card, though.  I just love this new paper and the great color combination of Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip.

For the first card, I really tried to follow the sketch as closely as I could.  So, I guess I flipped it upside down but it's really close!! :)  For the second card, I changed the orientation added a quick little piece of satin ribbon. This is a great sketch that can invite so many different ideas.  I definitely think I'll play with it some more!

Card Recipe:

Card Stock - Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Classic Ink - Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Versamark
Designer Series Paper - Greenhouse Gala
Accessories - Scalloped Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, White Siglow Gel Pen
Stamps - Friends Never Fade

As always, I'd invite you to continue on to visit more Sketch Frenzy Friday bloggers.  To continue on in the tour, head on over to Kim's blog.

And the winner is...

Rachel M.

Rachel, you've won $50 in NEW MERCHANDISE from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog!!  Your name was drawn at random by my loving son (you can thank him later) from the group of smart ladies who ordered at least $30 in retiring product during the month of June.  Congratulations!!

I can't wait to see what great stampin' products you're going to pick!!