Holiday Cheer - A Challenge

HEre is what I worked on today! I found a link (can't even remember exactly where) but it lead to a cool blog/website for card sketches. They have a challenge going on, so I decided to give it a try.
This is my card based on their sketch.
The link to them is:
http://2sketches4you.blogspot.com/2008/11/kazans-sketch-13.html

Thanks for looking. And Thanks to Kazan for the sketch.

Ok - My newest Stamped creations

Here's what I've been working on (CASE-ing)... Thanks my friends at S.C.S.

What's been happening?

Wow... another busy month-6 weeks has flown by. What have I been up to??

Well - I became a TASTEFULLY SIMPLE consultant. They had a great sign-up deal, and I LOVE their products, so I figured I'd give it a try. Since I started with Stampin Up! over 9 years ago - I forgot some of the start up work. It's keeping me busy.
OF COURSE, If you want to order or host a Taste-Testing party, Please give me a call. I'd LOVE the opportunity to show you their newest products. I'd also be GRATEFUL for the help it would provide me.

I've been busy with the kid's school... being a Lunch Mom (3 days a week). It's pretty easy... and fun to watch the kids enjoy their favorite parts of the day.

I have been fortunate enough to get some stamping done... although not as much as I would like.
I've also been introduced to Facebook... what a fun "time sucker". I enjoy it, and often have it open while at my desk stamping :-) *Love multi-tasking!*

I'll scan some of the latest cards I've been stamping and share them.

Woah, Time Flies

Man O Man... It's been too long since I've posted. I have had the chance to stamp a little. I'll post the cards we made at September's stamp club with this post (above).

(oh the one with the tree, I made for a swap... we MIGHT be recreating it at October's stamp club *wink*) OH YEAH... The sets used for the Stamp Club cards are ON SALE for 15% off until September 30th.

Of course school started, so that has taken up a good chuck of time - trying to get back into a routine with the kids. Not to mention work, and all that kind of "stuff".

But on the stampin side of things... I am busily preparing for a craft show I'll be in this weekend at Deneweth's Greenhouse (On 22 Mile, east of Hayes). Come check it out! (over 55 vendors) I'll have hand stamped cards for sale, specials running, and hopefully some new stamping friends!

so, until I return from this weekend... here are a few cards to enjoy!

Rubber Stamp Convention

Wow... what an exciting day. I spent the day with a bunch of my stamp club gals. We went to the Rubber Stamp COnvention in Novi (at the Rock Financial Showplace). LOTS to see... lots to buy (I HAD to be good and not go overboard), and lots of fun!
I met up with 2 of my Stampin' Up! demo friends Shari D. and Shari F. - Shari F came from Midland and I'd never met her before... we're going on a stamp weekend in March 2009, so I figured it'd be nice to meet in person. Shari D. jsu cam eback from Stampin' Up! convention in Utah and brought me some convention bussy gifts. FUN!
so shopping... ummm what I'd get? some glitter... a nestibility die to try... a cuttlebug die... and 2 stamps for Brian's Business Christmas cards this year... They're going to be some work, so I guess I should get thinking aboutt hem.

OK... gotta run... the kids friends just came over.

Have a great day.

New challenges met (stamp challenges those are)

I was finally able to stamp today (so anxious to be able to order from the NEW catalog later this afternoon...) I decided to meet a few challenges.

The first (The rose card with the heart) was for a yahoo group - SU Girlfriends. The heart is made from vellum (you can see the tutorial here http://andreawalford.com/?p=616 )
The stamps are from the (SU!) Always set.

The 2nd wasn't really a "challenge" but rether a card I found on SCS on Beate Johns' gallery that I decided to CASE (the layout anyway). The papers and flower punch are non-SU! the stamp set is Pun Fun.

Enjoy... and soon... I'll get some BRAND NEW stamps and accessories to share.
(I'm so excited - can ya tell)

What a busy Summer...

Hello bloggers, I'm back.

Summer is flying by, I can't believe it. The kids (and my day-job) are keeping me from stamping and blogging, but that's fine... I'll enjoy them for another few weeks and it'll be back to school.

I did manage to do some stamping... for swaps on VCRocks (a summer yahoo group celebrating SU's convention). SO here are a few thigns I've done recently: (above)

What's been happening?

I realize it's been a coulpe weeks since I posted... alot has been happening... both good and not so good. On the bright side... My children's school had a vendor show this weekend. I had a table and sold hand stamped cards. It went pretty well, and of course that's what has been taking a big chuck of time - making those cards... a few of them are above (I'll post a few more later).

The not so good... my very good friend Michele was diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer and 5 days later underwent a double mastectomy. She's a single mom, alone with limited support (physically and financially) so I tried to be there for her whenever I could. She's doing well, personally I think she's doing amazingly well... I know if it were me, I would've been down for the count for more time than she allowed herself. She's strong - a fighter! SHe still has to go through treatments (they haven't decided whether it'll be chemo or just radiation). I'll be planning a fundraiser for her in the future (it's in the works) so I'll let you know when that is ready to announce.

I hope you had a great couple of weeks, and it won't be so long until my next post :-)

-Maureen

Jamie's Birthday Invitation

I made these invitations tonight for Jamie's birthday party next month.

The butterfly is from a set by MissyBDesigns, called Alexa's set. It was designed for Alexa Meader. At age 6, she was diagnosed with Pre B Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Her mom (with the help of Missy B) designed a stamp set and proceeds from the purchase would then go to Turtle Girl Designs for Pediatric Cancer research!. To find out more about Turtle Girl Designs visit turtlegirldesigns.blogspot.com

I'm looking forward to making more cards with it (Emme's Thank You cards, and cards for the JHE Vendor Show). Stay tuned to see some of them when I get them completed.

SCS Challenges

Here are 2 cards I made this week for challenges on Splitcoaststampers.com

The top one is for 2 different challenges - a color challenge (to use Caramel. Moss, Apricot, and Coral) as well as a layout challenge. I used my cuttlebug with a combo cutting/embossing die - loved that it matches SU!'s Pick a Petal set too :-)

The second one is for a color challenge (to use Red, Navy, and Glorious Green). I discovered how rarely I use Glorious Green... I do like the color green, but there are so many other shades I prefer (Wasabi, Celery, Artichoke, etc.). Even with the Glorious Green the card turned out pretty well. The scallop punches are Marvy, and the rhinestones are from CTMH

Thanks for stopping by!

Charoltte's Wings - Alexander's Disease

The family of Charoltte is a friend of my sister-in-law, Jennifer. We prayed hard and often for the family as they went through this (read below). If you would like to help other children who are hospitalized, please read about the foundationa and benefit in Charoltte's honor.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask myself or Jen (her e-mail is below) If you desire, you can mention that you heard about this from me. -Maureen Buck


Dear Friends,

I am writing to you about a tragic and inspiring story, as well as a cause that I am asking you to support so that together we can turn this tragedy into something truly positive.

In December of 2007, a precious and beloved five-month old girl, Charlotte, was lost to an extremely rare and incurable brain disease called Alexander’s Disease. There have only been 500 reported cases of this disease worldwide. Charlotte’s death was a shock to us all. Those who came into contact with Charlotte will never forget the overwhelming sadness and sense of helplessness occasioned by her suffering and loss.

I, like many of you, have been touched by Charlotte’s beautiful family and the courage they demonstrated through such an unimaginable and horrific event. They not only persevered through this painful experience, but they managed to spread hope to others in the process. To honor Charlotte’s memory, her parents looked for an opportunity to help other children. They decided to donate hundreds of children’s books to a local hospital in tribute to Charlotte.

I was so moved by this gesture that I asked Charlotte’s parents if I could work with them to start a foundation to keep Charlotte’s memory and spirit alive by helping children in need. Graciously (and enthusiastically), Charlotte’s family agreed and, therefore, I would like to introduce to you:

Charlotte’s Wings

Charlotte’s Wings is a tax exempt, non-profit organization dedicated to assisting children admitted to local hospitals by donating books to the children, their families, pediatric waiting rooms, and hospital libraries. These books will help provide an ailing child with a smile, a dream, or an escape from an unfortunate reality. Our mission is simple: to bring hope, encouragement and happiness to local children and their families during a challenging and frightening period. Whether a child is facing something as benign as tonsillitis or something as serious as a terminal disease, a book can provide comfort to a sick child. And that is why I am asking for your help in this cause and to enshrine Charlotte’s memory in all of us.

Charlotte’s Wings will hold a kick-off event at
Main Street Billiards
215 S Main St, Rochester, MI 48307
On Saturday, May 31, 2008
From 5:00-8:00 P.M.
$10 per person (includes hors d’oeuvres)
This event will introduce everyone to this charitable cause and serve as the first official “book” raiser on behalf of Charlotte’s Wings. To make this a success we will be asking that all kick-off attendees donate three new books which will be donated to one of the following hospitals:

William Beaumont Hospital
St. John’s Mercy Hospital
University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital

We would like to include as many people as possible to our first event. Therefore, in addition to yourself, if you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass along this note and/or provide their mailing address to jgb2549@wowway.com by April 17th. I will send another invitation by mail the end of this month.

Thank you for your time and I truly appreciate any support you can lend to this cause. We look forward to seeing you all in May.

Regards,
Jen Buck

Techno Stamper's Lunchtime Challenge #11

How to get a stamper working?

Offer her a challenge!

This challenge was posted by Mary Jo. Her blog can be found at

http://technostamper.blogspot.com/

It scanned funny on the left... it's not really crooked.

but the middle scallop circle is popped up with dimensionals and I think it made it scan funny.

The stamps are from ALWAYS by Stampin' Up!

The pattern paper is from the Spring MatStack by DCWV

(I loved that the paper colors just HAPPEN to match SU's

close to cocoa, bashful blue and certainly celery perfectly.)

Thanks Mary Jo - for the challenge.

(Go check out some cards made my other challenge participants - very cool!)

Playing with Always Stamp Set

Here's a perfect example of how you may like a set,
but it's not until you SEE what can be done with it -
that's when it hits you how much you love it!

We used this set at the Stampin Seminar in Lapeer MI that I attended last month. So I went surfing on SCS and found a great card by Betty Wright... Here's my version. Enjoy!!

Something I discovered (in a pinch): I needed Black Brads for the card... I didn't like how the other colors looked. I ran out of black, so while I was out I ran into the local craft store... no black brads! (every color BUT black). Hmmmm What to do. Did you know you can heat emboss brads with colored emb. powder to make them a differeent color? I had no black powder... so I used my handy dandy Sharpie Marker and colored them!! (Another suggestion, by Cas, a SU! Demo is to use a crop-a-dile to dry emboss a circle, color it with a black marker, and when the ink is dry, put Crystal Effects over it. When it's dry - it looks like a brad.) I haven't tried it yet - but you know what I'll be doing when I'm done blogging. Enjoy!!

-Maureen

Owl in Olive

Nothing like new stamps to motivate you to stamp! I saw this owl at Archivers last Friday, and it is inexpensive! I decided I didn't have any other owls (amazing!!) and I thought he was pretty cute.
I used Prismacolor Pencils and the Gamasol technique to color him in. Different SU! DSPapers... Fall Flowers, East Coast Prep, and Cocoa Prints

Not sure what occasion or who will get this card... but I guess next time someone asks me if I give a hoot - I can say yes. (LOL - I know, corny!)

-Moe

Shari's Color Challenge

I participated in another challenge... this time a COLOR challenge. My friend Shari (http://www.sharisstamppad.com/) saw a dress in the store and thought it looked like a cool color combo. She got home, tried it and wanted to see what we could do. This is what I came up with. This was the first time I used my new set ("Always" by SU!). The colors are: Groovy Guava, Bravo Burgundy, Certainly Celery, and Basic Black. I also used Baroque Motifs with Versamark for swirls at the bottom.

Thanks Shari for the challenge... it was just what I needed!!

Unfrogettable and Time Well Spent

Well, being sick is never fun! I missed going to Easter with the family because I was running a fever and had a killer sore throat. Went to the Dr. yesterday to confirm that it is strep throat. Antibiotics are finally kicking in, but the painful sore throat has been sticking around WAY too long. I'm so ready for it to be GONE! The good news, I had a little stamping time...


Here's a card I made while fooling around with a technique called Gamasol. It uses "regular" colored Pencils - non Watercolor Pencils (ie: Prismacolor) and Gamasol or Mineral Oil. The results look pretty cool in person, but for the "work" involved, it'd be MUCH easier to use SU!'s Watercolor Crayons and an Aquapainter or Blender Pen. The layout was adapted from a layout made by Lauren Meader (her blog can be found at: http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/).

The second was with the butterfly from the Time Well Spent stamp set. I used Ultra Fine Cosmo Glitter (SU!) for the butterfly's body and spots on the wings - doesn't show up that great in the scan. I didn't add a greeting on either yet - waiting to see what I'll need them for (I'm the worst at not having a card made for an occasion and needing it NOW!)

Thanks for looking... Have a great week

Chocolate Easter Egg Cartons

How cool that I stumbled upon Lauren's blog today (thanks Judy!),
which led me to Qbee (from Splitcoast) - she designed this very cute chocolate egg carton idea.

Perfect timing - I made 2 for my teenage nephews for Easter. Since they are for teenager boys, I left off the ribbon and flowers that Lauren and Qbee put on theirs. A little too plain for me (I really wanted to throw a flower or two on them, but I refrained. I used Think Happy Thoughts, Loads of Love Accessories, and So Many Scallops for the image/embellishment on top. The sides and insides used So Swirly Wheel and some retired stamps that I had out on my desk (needing to be put away).

You can find more about these boxes (including directions) here:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=7651

They really were not difficult to make. Give it a try, and share yours!!

Second Swap card to share

This is another of my favorite swap cards from this past weekend. Sadly it wasn't labeled, so I don't know who to give credit to. I just loved the color combo (not one I would've thought of) and the set... I know I've passed it many times, but seeingit in action just made me say COOL!
The set is called "Just B" and is now on my wish list :-)

First Swap Sample from Stamp Seminar

Here is a great sample that I received during a local stamp seminar in Lapeer, MI this past weekend. It was made by a very talented gal, Chris Kolly. The stamp set is called Pick a Petal and is technically a set for making flowers... how creative. She said she got the idea from another talented stamper Michelle. I CASE'd the card this evening for my husband to send to a co-worker who has heart surgery today. I have one more swap to share... I'll post it next...

Sunny Umbrella... Lauren's Challenge

My second challenge... this cute umbrella card. I started out with a 2" circle punch, so mine is considerably smaller than Lauren's - but it was a good size for a 3x3 card. I wasn't able to use my oval punch for the edges of the umbrella - I had to cut those by hand. Although this would make a very cute shower card, I thought it'd be a fun sun card... so I printed the sentiment on my computer. The umbrella handle is a toothpick.

Here is the link to Lauren's blog and her challenge:
http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/03/15/happy-blog-aversary-to-me-giveawaysketch-and-a-tutorial-wow/#comment-18885

Thanks Lauren for the challenge, I look forward to trying this card again (bigger next time :-)

Thanks everyone for stopping by - I still have a couple cards from last Saturday's seminar to post, but I need to do a couple things first.

Stampin' Seminar this weekend

This weekend I'll be attending a stamping seminar put on by some local Stampin' Up! Demonstrators (in Lapeer, Michigan). As with just about most seminars, there's always plenty of card swapping to be done. The theme of the seminar is K.I.S.S. (simple stamping). Here is my swap card (they asked us to keep them "simple"). I used One Sheet Wonder technique to do the background.
Enjoy!

PS - After the seminar this weekend, I'll post anything I learned and any great samples.

Summer Picnic - Tammy's Challenge

These days, with all the bloggers and great websites (like splitcoast) there are great challenges offered, to get people stamping. I've never participated in a challenge before, so I decided it was time to give it a try. Here is the challenge...

http://stamphappy-tammy.blogspot.com/2008/03/snowed-in-sketch-challenge.html

Here are my cards (yep - I made 2). Both use SU!'s Summer Picnic DSP and Tart 'n Tangy stamp set (both from Occasions Mini Catalog).

I have a workshop tonight, so I'd better get back to prepping and packing... before I know it, it'll be that time.

Thanks for coming by!

Ok, I'm getting the hang of this.

Thanks to my SU GF's for your encouragement. I actually helped my TECHIE hubby set up a blog (now there's a scary thought!). I thought I'd share another card I made Monday night while cropping (made with my scrapping supplies). If I remember correctly, I got the idea from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Have a great one!

Tonight's project

Ok - I guess adding pictures wasn't too difficult. :-)
Here is a card I made this evening with my scrapping supplies.
I learned about the flowers from Lauren...
http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/02/26/what-a-find-you-dont-need-to-be-royalty-to-get-in-on-this-bargain/
They were white, I used my sponge dauber and classic stamp pad to add color to them.
THANKS LAUREN for the awesome tip/idea!

I did it!

Wow! I'm the newest blogger in town. I'm still learning, so be patient.
My name is Maureen, I'm a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator (it'll be 9 years in May).
I prefer to stamp cards, (Instant gratification) but I am a scrapper as well (in fact I just completed the winter session of the scrapbook league at the local SB store - it's like a bowling league for scrappers (with no pins or balls... LOL!). Teams of 4 crop for 4.5 hours once a week and are scored on the pages you complete - depending on supplies used on yor pages).

I'll learn to post pictures and I'll share a card I made tonight.

Until we "read" again...