TIME FOR A NEW CARD

I know it is kind of late right now. It is just after midnight. However, I really felt the need to create something new and I'm in a very "pink" mood right now. I pulled out some pixie pink cardstock for the background which I mounted on whisper white. Then I just had to stamp!!! So I took out my new STAMPIN UP! stamp set called petal pizzaz. I stamped the bottom flower in pixie pink, the middle flower in pink pirouette and the top smallest flower in pink passion. This last flower was stamped off once for a lighter look and it actually goes really well with the pixie pink. I dimensionalized the flowers a bit. A few years ago, my friend Diana Hnat gave me a tool for doing this for my birthday. I was hooked ever since. You will see me use flowers a lot like this. I mounted the flowers on top of the sweet always dsp and then added the sentiment "you're so thoughtful" from the stamp set absolutely fabulous. Of course I had to finish this all off with a flat backed pearl from the SU! pretties kit. I really like how this turned out and I love my new stamp set! If you look in the post below you will also see some other samples from Leadership '09 using the same petal pizzaz set. Really cool! There are lots of new stamp sets and accessories out in the new STAMPIN UP! idea book. You can order anytime from my website or just browse SU! items online. Enjoy! and I'll do some more creating tomorrow. Maria

some more GREAT STAMPIN UP! samples

I just wanted to give you some more sample ideas of things you can make with stampin up products. Remember that this sunday starts Sale-a-bration. Get a free stamp set, ribbon set or designer paper with every $50 order.

SNOW AND ICE TODAY

I couldn't get Luigi to turn around for the photo and it was ice cold last night. It snowed about 3 to 4 inches here but then there was sleet and now this am it is raining. With the weather the way it was I didn't want Luigi to get ice and snow stuck between his toes while he was going out to do his business, so I put him in his boots. Aren't they adorable? They are not meant for long term use, but for bad weather, they are great. Luigi loves the snow but last night he couldn't wait to get in. I bet it was to take those cute boots off. Today it is a quarter of an inch thick ice on the streets. Schools are closed but I have to go to work. It's going to be a bit dicey getting in. I was hoping they would have salted the roads. Maybe within the hour and I'll have a little bit better tracking.

oops forgot this great sample

I forgot to add this one. This is one of the new sets I MUST have. I love trees! If you need details on any of these projects, let me know! Maria
ps. click on picture if you need to see it in larger detail

MORE LEADERSHIP SAMPLES and STAMP CAMP is COMING

Here are some more great samples for you to enjoy from leadership. I think they did an awesome job with these. We will be working with some of these sets at upcoming events. By the way, don't forget to sign up for STAMP CAMP this spring. We have officially set the date as APRIL 4th at Diana's home in Hanover, Pa. It is an all day event and we craft all day except for the early am when we eat breakfast and the afternoon when we have a great homecooked meal. Diana's husband usually grills for us - our first barbecue of the season. Linda K and I have some great projects to make! email me if you want more details, but space is limited and we are almost fully registered. (p.s. it is snowing today and the kids have off. JP and Luigi are going to love this! I'm not going to like my drive!)

Many of these samples use PETAL PIZZAZ a new Stamp Set from Stampin UP!

My puppy loves the SNOW

It might snow today. It sure has been cold enough. Yesterday it might have been 14 degrees. This am it is about 24 degrees when I took Luigi for a walk. He loves the snow. It snowed for the first time here last week on Monday. We barely got an inch, but it was enough to make my son and his puppy very happy. At first Luigi didn't know what to do with it. Then he started romping all over and kicking it up and putting his nose in it and eating it. It was such a delight. You can see it on his nose in the photo below. Of course, by now the snow is gone. There are small ice patches in places, but the ground is uncovered. My son wants snow so much. I think he wants a day off from school. We keep talking about the fact that it has been so cold but the snow keeps missing us. If it is going to be cold for goodness sakes, let's have snow! So you know what I'm going to be hoping for today. (Minus the slippery streets to drive in, of course!)

CARDS WE MADE AT CATHY'S USING STAMPIN UP!

Several of us stampers met at Cathy Weir's home in Street Maryland yesterday and had a great time stamping and sharing ideas. Cathy made a delicious Chicken divan casserole that was fabulous. Cathy will send me the recipe and I'll have to post it for everyone. I never had such a delicious meal. Hsiao-hui made her famous dumplings for Chinese New Year. These were the same ones she made for her Halloween party and they were devoured. Hsiao-hui also made a delicious Kahlua cake and we will need that recipe also. Diana Hnat came down from Pa and made her famous potato salad. Katie Ford had a birthday yesterday (happy birthday Katie from all of us!!!). She made a lemon pound cake that was awesome. The pink card with the cupcakes on it was the card I made for her birthday. I have also included some of the other cards we worked on that we want to share with you. Diana made a scrapbook page of her son's girlfriend Erin at Halloween. I didn't get a chance to photograph that but will ask her to send a copy to me so I can post it.

The first card here was made by Hsiao-hui Leonard. she used the Season of Friendship tree stamp set that was in the recent Holiday Mini catalog. This had to be the most popular set. In a previous post I posted a photo of the family tree frame that Linda Kincaid made for me and that was the same tree. Hsiao-hui gave us the idea that we could stamp this for valentine's day and put the insert in our frames. For the Valentines she used the NEW 3 Heart Punch, the candylane papers and the Love Always stamp set from Stampin Up's Valentine bundle. I love how she paperpieced the little birds with the candylane papers. Great Job!!!!

This is my card for Katie for her birthday. I used the new striped pretty in pink grosgrain ribbon from Stampin Up!'s new Spring -Summer Idea book. I colored one stripe with pixie pink to match the cardstock that the cupcakes stand is mounted on. The cardstock is pink pirouette from the IN COLORs carstock. And...I embossed the cardstock with Stampin Up's NEW TEXTURZ plates (Backgrounds 1). They are great and a bargain at only $11.95. They are for use with your Sizzix Big Shot or Big Kick machine and there are 3 double sided plates. The cupcake stand is from the stamp set CRAZY FOR CUPCAKES from Stampin Up! I also used our chunky glitter to make the icing sparkle!!!!

Katie Ford made this adorable card using real red carstock and dsp from the Fall-Winter Idea book. I love how she added sparkle to the cupcakes from the SU! set Party Hearty. She did such a good job with these. Notice how the icing is popped up with dimensionals. This really adds so much to your craft projects. You can find the glitter on my website. It is called dazzling diamonds and it is the by far the best glitter out there. We also have brand new fine glitter on page 180 of the new Spring -Summer Idea book called Fine Galaxy in black, silver, red, gold, and champagne and another set called Fine Supernova in chocolate, olive, orange, pink and aqua. We also still have Fine Cosmo in rose pink, 0rchid, light blue, celery and turquoise. Use this glitter to accent any craft project or try it on our sticky cut letters or brand new die cut sticky words and images called sticky cuts sweet. I'll try to find an image of this from leadership and post it later.

This is another card that Hsiao-hui made and is from last year's idea book and is called carte postale which is retired. I love how she punched each image out after she stamped it and used dimensionals to pop each one up. The background is textured. You can achieve this effect with our new SU! texturz background 1 plates.

Here is the awesome mirror that Cathy embellished with our SU! old olive rubons that was a free SALE-A-Bration set last year. Cathy and others earned this set for FREE during saleabration. She did a great job on the mirror that hangs in her powder room. Just after she completed it, her niece modeled for us in the mirror. I didn't get permission to photograph her and post her photo so I had to leave her cute smiling face off. If I hear from her mom I'd be happy to show you how cute she is. Sale-a-bration starts February 1st and you will need to check out the wonderful stamp sets, designer papers and ribbons you can get for FREE this year. SU! has outdone themselves again. I'll be sure to post the mini catalog and samples once we go live on Feb. 1st so check back here.

WOW! great card made by Hsiao-hui

My good friend and colleague from work made this adorable baby onesie card. It is just adorable. She used whisper white cardstock, pink pirouette cardstock and chocolate chip ink.
In addition, this uses the scallop punch and circle punches and dots embossing folder in the big shot. SU! is coming out with exclusive embossing folders in March. In the new idea book you will find some texturz plates and they look awesome, too. All supplies stampin up! except mini buttons. Enjoy! and thanks Hsiao-hui for sharing this with us! If you have a card you would like me to share with the group please email it to me.

Photo from Disney

SU! Leadership Conference was in Orlando. We took a side trip to the Magic Kingdom and had to flash our new hats we borrowed from Minnie and Mickey.

MORE BRAND NEW SAMPLES FROM LEADERSHIP

Here are some more new STAMPIN UP! samples!

I have lots to share so tune in each day for more great ideas.

Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it.
We will be doing lots of creating. Don't forget to sign up for class on February 5th and/or 19th.

BRAND NEW SU! SAMPLES FROM Leadership

here are some new samples! enjoy!

SU! BRAND NEW IDEA BOOK IS LIVE!

Here it is!!! The brand new idea book. I'm so excited to bring you new ideas and samples. Linda Kincaid and I will have all new projects and cards for you this season. SU! idea book is now on my website and you can begin ordering NOW. Go to www.scrappinriri.stampinup.net for lots of new samples and ideas and ordering. For ordering...go to shop now in the upper right hand corner. The ordering is very easy and you can see PICTURES of the items with lots of brand new ideas!

NEW IDEA BOOK PREMIERS TODAY!

Today our brand new Idea Book from Stampin UP! premiers. It is awesome. Everything goes live at 2 pm Eastern. I am so excited. I can't wait to share more images with you from the new Idea book. Be sure to link here to my blog this afternoon for your first glimpse of the book cover and tonight I'll start posting images from Leadership. Lots of New Ideas coming to you!

NEW SU! IDEA BOOK DEBUTS JANUARY 19TH

Tonight is the last night to order from the Fall-Winter Idea Book for SU! Monday at noon the new Spring-Summer Book will be available. About half of my friends have their copies already. The concensus is that this is the BEST idea book ever. There are so many new and exciting things. I think I am most excited about all of the new sizzix items that are coming out. There are lots of new dies and some texturz plates. Hopefully those who don't have their books yet will be able to view the idea book on line. Here is a sample of some upcoming items. The first photo is of the new designer series paper raspberry tart. It is so yummy. The colors are awesome and you should get these for your valentines and spring projects and cards. The second is a new embosslet made exclusively for Stampin Up! I love the texture this has. I can see endless possibilities for both of these.

MORE PROJECTS FROM LOVE LETTER CLASS

These are more of the projects that we did this past Thursday night at Sue's home. We had a great group gathered to make these. This first one is the Thank you that Sue E. made. She gave one to everyone who attended. She also made delicious homemade double fudge brownies.

This is the adorable Tote that Cathy W. showed us how to make. She used the Priceless Stamp set and Simply Said stamp set both from Stampin Up! She stamped using the white craft pad on real red cardstock. The white craft pad is amazing. It is so soft and has lots of uses. It is a must for your supply box. Cathy cut a small white paper bag for the inside of the tote. She adhered two top notes to the bag and then punched the opening with the larger oval punch. Grea job Cathy. It is adorable. She even filled all of our totes with hershey's kisses and m and m's. What a sweetie!

This is the technique card we did for our SU! technique flip file. It is called background pop and I'm not sure who came up with this technique (sorry). You stamp a background stamp first (I used Tres Chic from SU!) and then use a more open stamp (such as this flower from the new SU! hostess set called Dream A Little) for the "popped" part. Stamp the flower first and then the background or vice versa. It doesn't matter. Cut out the flower and then adhere it on top of the background image so that it is aligned with the background. I used whisper white cardstock, riding hood red textured!!! cardstock and pink pirouette cardstock - all from Stampin UP! I also used riding hood red grosgrain ribbon and tied it with fibers from the same ribbon - a cool technique I showed all of the class members that I learned at Leadership last week. Lastly, I stamped the cherish from warm wards (another great SU! set) and layered it with an oval stylized silver hodgepodge label. By the way...until Sunday night, the hodgepodge in both stylized silver and vanilla are on sale!!! you should go to my website www.scrappinriri.stampinup.net to order those.

This is an awesome card that Linda Kincaid made using the pennant die from Stampin UP! for the Big Shot. I'm going to try to do a tutorial for this card and post it in a future post. Linda used Eastern Influences stamp set (stampin up!), tangerine tango striped grosgrain ribbon, frosty days dsp, tangerine tango cardstock and chipboard colored with close to cocoa craft ink. Really nice job Linda!
The two other cards are in the previous posts. If you are interested in any of our classes, please email me to sign up. The Next open class is February 5th and is entitled Wishing You! We are about to start SALE-A-BRATION with Stampin Up! on February 1st so you can earn LOTS OF FREE items. The class fee is only $15. We will have Katie Ford guest demonstrating the Glitter Window Technique so you will surely want to be there for that class.

We had a great class last evening. Here is one of the projects we did. This card was demonstrated by Linda Kincaid. I will post the others tonight.

Maria

THURSDAY - CLASS tonight

Hello Stampers and Crafters - Tonight we have class at Sue's lovely home. We are going to do a few cards, a craft by Cathy Weir, and a technique card. We are going to use the valentine bundle set which includes the stamp set seen above and the coordinating papers from the new dsp - candy lane. I'm so excited about this promotion called the Valentine Bundle, especially because it is 20% off, right now. I love that SU! is bundling coordinating items together. Most of my customers have gotten this bundle already and I think we might just have to do some valentines. In fact, I'm going to decorate the door to my office in red and we will see if any valentine's come in. Have a great day everyone and I'll show the other cards we are doing in a future post.

NEW SU! SAMPLE for class this thursday

I had a lot of fun making this card. We are going to do this as one of the cards for my love letter class this thursday. I used the new valentine bundle from SU! which is available now at 20% off. You can purchase yours from my website on special now by going to http://www.scrappinriri.stampinup.net/ and clicking on shop now in the upper right hand corner.

supplies used:
stamps: Love You Much
cardstock: textured IN COLOR pink pirouette; whisper white
dsp: Candy Lane from NEW IDEA BOOK
other: New 3 HEART PUNCH from SU! scallop border punch SU! crystal effects (my favorite accessory) and riding hood red taffeta ribbon.
ink: black staz on; riding hood red, kiwi kiss, and pink pirouette reinkers used with blender pens for customized stampin write markers for the in color inks

Monday Night/New Idea book Update

hello stampers and crafters! it's monday night! how about a card sample from the new idea book! here is a card made using the love you much bundle stamp set!

RECIPE:
FOR CARD ABOVE USING LOVE YOU MUCH BUNDLE CURRENTLY ON SALE!

STAMP SETS: Love you Much (hearts); One of A Kind (for you)
INK: chocolate chip classic
CARDSTOCK: chocolate chip; pink pirouette, whisper white
OTHER: Sweet Always Designer Paper (double sided and gorgeous!!)
Scallop border punch, chunky glitter; stampin write markers

Yeah! My idea books are shipped and due to reach me tomorrow (Tuesday January 13th). Everyone is going to be so excited to get them early as I originally thought they wouldn't be in until next week. I did find out that I am not supposed to post any photos of the idea book or any samples of sets not released yet. Don't worry, for those coming to class on thursday - LOVE LETTER DAY! - you are going to get to see the Idea book then and you are going to also see some new stuff! For now, I'm going to post some cards so you can see some of the cool things that I'm doing. Once January 19th comes, I'll post lots of new things for you to see and I'll try to upload some of my photos to snapfish so you can check them out there in bulk.

I'm Back from Stampin UP! Leadership in Orlando

Hello Friends!
I'm back safe and sound from Orlando. I have seen our brand new SU! Idea book and it is gorgeous. I'm going to see if I can upload some photos. I'll try to do that later tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, let me tell you what is coming and you can check back tomorrow for new photos:
1. LOTS OF NEW BIG SHOT DIES, including many EXCLUSIVE to SU! there is a new box die, a new moveable (yes!!! moveable!) magnetic curly label die - you MUST SEE This one!
2. TEXTURE PLATES for BIG SHOT with our backgrounds. Wait til you see these.
3. COMING REALLY SOON....folder dies like the cuttlebug. there is this FABULOUS new Manhattan flower folder that is to die for!
4. Lots of New SETS and wheels! You are going to be in for a treat!
5. Corduroy Buttons
6. Metal buttons
7. RUB-Ons in Multiple colors - yummy
8. New Chipboard
9. $5 and $10 stamps - these are so wonderful.
10. New card kits that are very inexpensive
11. Fabulous New RIBBONS
12. CLEAR RHINESTONE brads
13. Jumbo Brads and Jumbo Clips
14. Flower Brads in different colors
15. NEW CHIPBOARD! Really cool
16. New Scrapbook Kits - gorgeous new colors
17. New double sided paper that is textured!!!!! a REAL WOW!
18. New punches!! Including a new punch like the scallop border punch and a new larger heart
there is so much more I can't even remember all of it!
Oh! and the BIGGEST NEWS of all - DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING! You are going to be able to
design and print your own scrapbook pages using exclusive SU! images and elements. They will have predone pages that all you have to do is put your photos inside and they will also have where you can design the pages yourself!!!! You will be able to print on your own printer or through a company. You can have individual pages or you can print a book. These are absolutely wonderful! There is so much coming! It is wonderful to be part of Stampin Up! especially in this 20th Anniversary Year! More coming soon! Check back tomorrow for photos!

BLOWOUT SALE PRICES

JUST CLICK THE LINK TO THE RIGHT AND YOU CAN GO TO SHOP NOW. ONCE THESE ITEMS ARE GONE, THEY ARE GONE. THE PRICES ARE UP TO 50% OFF. THIS SALE IS AMAZING. You can get in color texture paper at discount, hodge podge (vanilla and silver) also discounted, and lots more. Some of these items are not retiring. For a full list of retiring items, see next post.

STAMPIN UP! RETIRED ACCESSORY LIST

Below is the retired accessory list from STAMPIN UP!
http://scrappinriri.stampinup.net/
EMAIL ME at scrappinriri@verizon.net ASAP IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU WANT. I will order what I can. Once an item sells out, it is gone for good. Do not hesitate if there is something that you want. You can order directly from my website so that is the quickest way to order. I am headed to Leadership tomorrow am (Tuesday) and can only take orders until 8:30 am. After that, all orders must go through my website.
111377
ACCENTS & ELEMENTS ROOF GARDEN

112012
ACCENTS & ELEMENTS SEASON TO SHARE

112088
ACCENTS & ELEMENTS TRUE ELEGANCE

102782
ALBUM LEATHER BLACK 12X12
Not Available
104188
ALBUM LEATHER BLACK 6X6

105384
ALBUM LINEN POST MELLOW MOSS 6X6*

104516
ALBUM LINEN POST NAVY 6X6

105381
ALBUM LINEN POST REAL RED 6X6*

103977
BUTTONS BOLD BRIGHTS*

103978
BUTTONS EARTH ELEMENTS

103981
BUTTONS EARTH ELEMENTS & NEUTRALS

105446
BUTTONS RICH REGALS

105445
BUTTONS SOFT SUBTLES

103604
DAYS-TO-REMEMBER CALENDAR 12X12

102174
DAYS-TO-REMEMBER CALENDAR 8 1/2X11

112465
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER BANBURY

112462
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GEORGIA PEACH

112463
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GHOSTLY GREETINGS

112040
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GREEN TEA

112470
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HAIKU

112460
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HAWAII PAPAYA

112469
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HOLIDAY TREASURES

112458
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER JUNIOR VARSITY

112459
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER MAINE BLUEBERRY

112466
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER MUIRFIELD

112149
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PARISIAN SUMMER

112467
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PRESTWICK

111355
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER SUMMER PICNIC

112039
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER WINDSOR KNOT

112963
ELEMENTOS PARA TARJETAS DIAS FESTIVOS HECHOS A MANO SIMPLY SENT

106523
ENVELOPE TEMPLATE FIVE-IN-ONE CARD COVER

104104
ENVELOPE TEMPLATE MINI

107298
ENVELOPES CONFETTI WHITE MEDIUM

110695
ENVELOPES OPEN END KRAFT SMALL

109115
ENVELOPES OPEN END VERY VANILLA SMALL

103372
METAL EDGE TAGS ALUMINUM WHITE SQUARE

107925
ON BOARD BITTY BOOK*

109190
ON BOARD CLIPBOARD 9X9*

109180
ON BOARD SIMON UPPER

112086
ON BOARD SOMETHING SEASONAL

107923
PAGE PROTECTORS RING 3.25 X 3.25

104942
PUNCH 1/4 INCH CIRCLE

104943
PUNCH 1/4 INCH SQUARE

107273
PUNCH 3/4 INCH SQUARE

104389
PUNCH DOUBLE CIRCLE*

100391
PUNCH HANDHELD 1/8 INCH CIRCLE
Not Available
104830
RIBBON GINGHAM CARAMEL

104829
RIBBON GINGHAM LIGHT BLUE

104828
RIBBON GINGHAM LIGHT PINK

104831
RIBBON GINGHAM MOSS

109037
RIBBON GROSGRAIN MORE MUSTARD 1/4 INCH

110282
RUB ON ANCHORED

111806
RUB ON CHILLS & THRILLS

111805
RUB ON SCHOOL DAYS

111417
RUB ON WORD FLURRIES

110283
RUB ONS TAKE NOTE

112193
SIMPLY SCRAPPIN I WISH

112186
SIMPLY SCRAPPIN PINA COLADA

112068
SIMPLY SCRAPPIN SUMMER HOME

112043
SIMPLY SCRAPPIN U R SWEET

112061
SIMPLY SCRAPPIN WINTER RETREAT

112016
SIMPLY SENT CARD ELEMENTS HANDMADE HOLIDAY

109868
SIMPLY SENT CARD KIT LIFELONG NOTES

103647
STAMPIN STORE MINI

105813
WRITE ME A MEMORY FONT CD VOL II
*This item is discounted and included on the Inventory Blowout.

Great Gift from LInda

I just had to post this photo of a gift I received from my good friend Linda K. She used the Sets Season of Friendship and All in the Family from Stampin Up! and stamped my family tree. Isn't this just a fantastic gift? All of the attendees at Stamp Camp in the fall got to make this project. They also made inserts for the various seasons so they can change them out. Some of the leaves are popped up with SU! dimensionals. She even included our puppy. I loved this project so much that I made 2 for my colleagues at work. One of them had 10 people I had to represent. They were so easy to make and the presentation is really great. The frame of all things is perfect for this artwork and can be found at IKEA for under $10. Linda is really an amazing SU! artist and demonstrator. If you would like to take classes with both of us or attend a stamp camp, check out my website for times. We have a class coming up on January 15th and the cards are going to be incredible. We even have one of our favorite guest demonstrators Cathy W. presenting a really adorable project, so there will be cards and a project. Class is listed at http://www.scrappinriri.stampinup.net/. Hope you can come. I'll try to post a sneak peak in the next few days of a card that uses one of the sets we will be using.

I love waking up to this guy every morning

My puppy is just adorable. I love waking up to this cute face every morning. It's true! puppies give you unconditional love. He has been such a great dog. We adopted this sheltie/terrier mix in July when he was almost 4 months old. He has been such a great addition to our family. It is interesting, because when we first got him, the adoption agency told us that he was a sheltiedoodle (toy poodle mix) and that he wouldn't get much bigger than the few pounds he weighed. As the months went on, he got somewhat bigger and we knew there was no toy poodle in that dog. In fact, he weighs about 25 lbs. right now, but that is probably the biggest he is going to get - or maybe a few lbs. more. His face and the hair on his head, ears and neck is soft and is very much a sheltie. The rest of his coat is a little more wirey and more like terrier. He has the sweetest disposition and will follow any of the three of us anywhere. The best part of my day is coming home from a long day at work and having this wonderful pup wag his tail back and forth like there is no tomorrow - just so glad I'm home. I guess I have 3 boys now and I'm very happy about that.

Saturdays

Don't you just love Saturdays? I do. It is one of those days where you usually run errands, catch up on the mail, work if you have to (I have to, today), and sometimes get in a little crafting. We have a baby shower at work today for our secretary. She is due sometime this month. Although we have a group card, I wanted to make my own card to give. I just love this set from Stampin Up! It is called Nursery Necessities and is just darling. I used crystal effects on most everything. For the ocean, I just tore some ballet blue cardstock and inked the edges in white. I think she will like her card. She didn't tell us if it is a boy or a girl, so I had to be somewhat neutral. The background is barely banana and most everything else was done on whisper white. All supplies by Stampin Up!

CARD MAKING TONIGHT

After dinner tonight, I decided to make some cards using my new SU! stamp sets. This one comes out mid January in the new idea book. It is called Sweet Stems and it is really delicate and sweet. I stamped with black staz on ink onto watercolor paper and then colored with stampin write markers. The watercolor paper really picks up the ink well so that the colors are really vibrant. Then I added crystal effects to the flowers and added a pink taffeta ribbon bow. The cardstock colors are pink pirouette and riding hood red which are part of the SU! 2008-09 IN COLOR group.

Great New Years's Day

What a great day! But boy was it cold in Maryland. Today it is 31 degrees this am but it doesn't feel as cold. I guess not much windchill. I am headed to work again and will have lots to do, but when I get home, I'm hoping to watch a movie. My husband got me Mama Mia for christmas. I have never seen that one. Yesterday, when I got home, I did make lasagna for dinner. It was pretty delicious. We have some leftovers for today. Next week I'm headed to Orlando (yeah! sun and warmth) for SU! Leadership conference followed by regionals. I'll have to tell you all about it, but the BEST thing will be seeing the new IDEA BOOK in person before it gets sent out -whahoo!!! I have some new sets already that I could preorder and over the next few days I'm going to start making some new cards and projects. In the meantime, here is the little gift I gave everyone at our SU! christmas party. My son sold popcorn for the cubscouts and this year they had a new flavor - chesapeake bay. It tastes awesome. Anyway...Crab and Company from SU! went with this perfectly.

Happy New Year

I can't believe I almost missed the ball in Times Square Drop. I have been awake for that for the last few years and last night I was so tired. My husband and son woke me up with 10 minutes to go. Well, truthfully, they have to wake me up every year around the same time. Tee hee! Of course, I just can't miss it no matter how tired I am. It was just as exciting as ever. There is something about New York and New Years that gives an incredible feeling. I could care less about the entertainment afterwards, but the countdown to the ball dropping is just amazing. Just after midnight we posed for our annual family photo. This time we get to put the puppy in the photo. We also had our usual chips and dip. However, we didn't do any "bubbly" this year. I think we were all too tired to look for it. Today I have to work, but when I get home I'm going to try to make another homemade lasagna. That is our Christmas and New Year's tradition. We wish you and your family a very happy and healthy new year!