Going retro

Hi stampers!  I've spent most of the day holed up in my stamp studio without much to "show" for it.  Why?  Because I had to work on my Dirty Dozen entries for Splitcoast today and I can't show them on my blog for a while.  BUT, if you're a Fan Club member over on Splitcoast you can see them starting tomorrow!  :-)  If you're not a fan club member you should be!  In addition to being able to view the Dirty cards and challenges it's a great way to give back to all the wonderful people there that make the place so dang cool!  That's why I joined!  It was my way of saying thanks for all the hard work the moderators put in!

I did make one card for fun when I got up this morning to get the creative juices flowing.  I don't usually stamp early in the morning but since we are on a self-imposed hiatus from Panera this month I made some oatmeal and hot tea and sat down at my desk.  It wasn't quite as good as what I get at Panera but I can't stamp there so at least that's something:-)

I've been meaning to plat at Retro Sketches for a while now!  I saw one of their recent sketches in Pinterest and went to check out their challenge site!  Wow!  They have some awesome sketches!  I will be playing there often I think!  Just check this week's sketch out:

Seriously, how cute is that?  As SOON as I saw it I had the idea to use the ornaments from merry minis.  I just knew they would look super cute.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Merry minis, pennant parade
Paper:  Whisper white, crumb cake, primrose petals, gumball green
Ink:  White craft, soft suede, baja breeze, cherry cobbler,  primrose petals, gumball green
Accessories:  Cherry cobbler baker's twine, large scallop edgelit, merry minis punch pack, paper piercing pack, vintage faceted buttons, basic pearls and rhinestones

I pulled my colors from the snow festival DSP because I'd planned to try to work some of the DSP in...but that didn't quite happen.  I also used my paper piercing pack to poke holes for the "strings".  And I know I'm using the white craft ink sponging on crumb cake a lot but gosh, it's just perfect for Christmas and winter cards.  It looks so fresh and snowy!  I can't stop:-)

I doubt I'll be back tomorrow with a mailable card unless I can find something I've had saved away for a while or unless inspiration strikes late tonight.  But I'll be back on Tuesday for sure!  And hopefully often now since football is winding down, yay!  One more week:-)

Happy stamping!

Feeling blue

Hi stampers.  I'm feeling blue today....well blue and green with this fabulous challenge over at the Friday Mashup.  

I just love the inspiration colors and the photo!  And I wanted to use the rectangles but I was in a rush to make a card before I had to go to work so I used squares instead because I didn't have to use math and could just use some punches:-)  It was just easy and quick.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Merry minis, more merry messages
Paper:  Whisper white, marina mist, pacific point, gumball green, lucky limeade
Ink:  Marina mist, pacific point, gumball green, lucky limeade
Accessories:  Postage stamp, square, merry minis punch pack punches, lacy brocade embossing folder, mini brads, silver flourish designer frames

I'm not thrilled with the way it turned out...looked different somehow in my head...but it's ok.  This is the second version though.  The first one I put on a marina mist card base and I really like the white better.  Oh and that reminds me...I've had some comments/questions about the ugly cards (or the ones that just don't work out or I don't like, hehe) I make and no....I don't blog them.  So, please don't think that every card I make is fabulous....because trust me, there are a lot of rejects.  I just don't let you see them:-)  That might be a fun feature though!  Kind of like mailable Monday....throwout Thursday?  LOL!

So, this card is why I'm feeling blue.  In all reality I'm feeling pretty good the past few days.  Maybe I'm finally out of the funk I've been in.  This is a busy week at work but football is almost over and then I get a small break.  I've finally gotten my act together and have been eating healthy and am enjoying working out again.  And speaking of working out....I have gotten a lot of comments about my active lifestyle, especially running and our struggles to have a baby.  While I do appreciate the kind words exercise is not the problem.  If you didn't know, I'm not only an athletic trainer but also have my Master's Degree in exercise physiology so I'm quite versed in the effects of exercise and the body.  Many runners have very low body fat and body fat helps control hormones.  My body fat is well within the normal range.  My levels were even normal when I was about 10 pounds lighter earlier this year!  And in all reality I'm NOT a super crazy runner.  I run a couple of times at most and not long distances and I'm pretty slow:-)    I plan on working out until the day I deliver as long as it's a healthy pregnancy.  Working out has may benefits both before the baby and while pregnant.  But without going into detail, exercise is not the issue.  So, like I said, while I do appreciate the encouragement the comments/emails about exercise were starting to upset me and there were a lot of them.  I struggled for a while as to address this or not but I had to get it out there.  

Happy stamping!

Christmas in August

Hi stampers!  Can you believe it's August already???  Where has the summer gone???  Well at least there is one good thing about August....well actually LOTS of good thing!  Today is a very special day as a LOT of new things are happening TODAY at Stampin' Up!  First off, today is the first day of the new Holiday Seasonal Catalog!  Yippie! It's like Christmas is August!!!! Click on the catalog over there to the right to take peek at it and then click the shop now button to get all your goodies from my online store!  There is so much fun stuff in there from Halloween to fall to Christmas!  I'll have a project for you a little later in the post-) 

Next, today is the release date of MDS2!  You can visit my online store and download a 30 day trial or just purchase it since you're going to love it, lol! You can get an update for around $20 if you already have MDS or you can purchase MDS2+ which has over $500 of content!  If you have any questions please let me know!  I had hoped to get up early this morning and download it and play before work but I slept in because I felt sickly last night...maybe I'll have some time to play tonight!  The new MDS2 looked VERY cool at convention and much easier to use!  Now, not all 75 new features are available at the moment but the majority are and they will be offering the others as free updates as they are finished!

Third...I told you there was a lot going on today....is that August is 31 days of savings!  Just visit my online store to see what MDS downloads and print products are 31% off!  Wowee!!!!

And last but not least....don't forget that you can get that A-FREAKING-DORABLE halloween printer's tray if you join my team!

So, for only $99 you get $125 worth of product out of either of the catalogs PLUS the printer's tray and all the supplies to make it!  You really can't beat that deal!  No pressure to ever sell anything else if you don't want to!  And there's no penalty for dropping if you chose to, you still get to keep everything! It's really a win-win situation!  Contact me if you have questions!

Ok, and now on to some more eye candy....since its like Christmas today I have a Christmas card for you!  This is a card that was inspired by something I saw on Pintrest and uses some goodies from the new seasonal catalog!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Merry minis, tiny tags
Paper:  Whisper white, crumb cake, polka dot parade DSP
Ink:  Real red, gumball green, pool party, craft white
Accessories:  Brights designer buttons, apothecary accents framelits,  merry minis punch pack, white baker's twine

Isn't it cute!  I finally cut into my polka dot DSP!  It's about time!  I also sponged white craft ink on the popped up card base.  It makes it look nice and soft and wintery.  The tag was made by simply cutting off the bottom tab of one of the apothecary accents framelits.  And punching out those little shapes could not have been easier with out new punch pack.  No more cutting little shapes!  So fun and so fast!

Now, go check out all that stuff I told you about up there!  And think about joining my team, ok?  We'd have so much fun!  I promise!!! :-)  Let me know if you need any help or have any questions!  I'm always here:-)

Happy stamping!