My Happy Stamping Place

Happy Valentine's Day!

Do you have big plans with your loved ones today?  Usually, we pick up a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's, I layout the table with festive Valentine placemats and plates, I give them each a little gift and we have some kind of sweet Valentine treat for dessert. Unfortunately, this year we will be scattered in different directions.  My daughter, Rebecca,works(at Papa Murphy's!), Nick has soccer, and Sam has gymnastics.  There isn't even time for my husband and I to sneak away for a romantic dinner because we have to be back in time to pick the kids up.Oh well.  Life is busy!

My youngest, Sam, is in 6th grade.  This is his last year in elementary school and the teachers told them it was optional to bring Valentines.  Sam didn't really want to but I wanted one last year to make something for his classmates.  So reluctantly, he is bringing in these for his class:

You can find the bubblewands at Target.  I just made little tags to hang from their heart shaped handles.

For his teacher I made this treat holder with a punch art lady bug:

Well, I gotta run to work.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe cards

I like to try new recipes, don't you?  But I don't like going through all of the work of making a new recipe only to find my family and I don't like it.  That's one of the reasons I love my recipe club!  I have 5 or 6 ladies who switch off being hostess. The hostess provides 3 recipes for me ahead of time which I create 6x6 recipe cards for.  On the day of recipe club the hostess makes her recipes for the rest of the club.  We all get to try her recipes and then everyone creates the 6x6 recipe cards so they can take the recipe home. You get to taste the recipe to decide if you would like to make it yourself and get some fun stamping time in.  It works for me!

Here are the 3 recipe cards I created from this month's hostess, Beckie.

I went for a sophisted look on this one with the recipe printed on River Rock cardstock, and the striped designer paper from the Mocha Morning Specialty pack.  I used the new Apothecary art stamp set and labels collection Sizzix die both from the new Occasions mini catalog.  The veggies are from the stamp set, Homegrown.

I used my new favorite ribbon from the mini the pleated ribbon!  This one is in Riding Hood Red. the stamp set is Fruits and Flowers.  Colors used are Early Espresso, Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Daffodill Dellight, and Riding Hood Red. Can you see the subtle stripe of the stripes embossing folder beneath the fruit?

I have been itching to use this stamp set with my recipe cards and I finally did.  This one uses the designer paper, domestic goddess.  The stamp  is a single stamp called Now You're Cookin'.  I see lots of possibilities for this one.  I used the labels die cut again and backed it with the 2 1/2 inch circle punch. Colors used are Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.

I hope you enjoyed these.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Flower thank you

Greetings all!  What's better than getting a nice hand-stamped card in the mail.  It's guaranteed to bring a smile to someone's face.  Today I'm sharing a thank you card made with the new stamp set and punch in the Occasions mini catalog called Mixed Bunch and the coordinating Blossom punch.  The new Labels collection Sizzix die.  I can't stop using those! And the pleated ribbon - to die for!

I'll be mailing this thank you card off to a customer tomorrow.

So glad it's Friday tomorrow!  I'm hoping to get in my craft room, go to a nice dinner with my husband, and run some errands.  The kids have a 3 day weekend with Martin Luther King day on Monday.  Lucky! I'll be working.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Cupcake time!

In the new Stampn' Up! Occasions mini catalog there are some awesome cupcake products for us cupcake lovers!  One of them is the new stamp set, Sweet Cake.  I used this set to make one of my Wow cards for the Wow card swap I'm in.

Lots of new product used here.  There's the new Sizzix labels die.  Love this thing!  It goes so well with the sweet cake set too.  The pleated ribbon - I'm in love!!!  The hearts embosslit die.  Heaven!  The cherry on top uses the new cherry cobbler dazzling details.  So many fun new products on one card!

I can't wait to see the rest of my Wow swap cards I'm getting in return. I hear they are exceptional.  I will share them with you here soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

Wow card swap

Every quarter I participate in a card swap with stamp sets and accessories from the new mini catalog.  The Occasions mini catalog starts January 4 so I just finished up my Wow swap cards for this round.  For this one I used the new Mixed Bunch stamp set and coordinating blossom punch. Yippee!  Don't you love it when Stampin' Up! creates punches that match the stamp sets?!

This is actually a gate fold card so the middle panel is only adhered on the left side and the card opens in the middle.  The buttons keep the card closed.

Recipe:

Stamps: Mixed bunch(new!), Sweet Cake(greeting-new!)

Ink: Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Luscious Limeade, Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Luscious Limeade,

Other: Blossom punch(new!), Brights buttons, baker's twine, stampin' dimensionals

The kids go back to school tomorrow and my husband goes back to work.  They all had about a 10 day break.  I just had the 3 day weekend and that was a treat.  Now there's just a 4 day work week.  Yeah! January is going to be a busy one with 2 weekend gymnastics meets, band concert, ski club for both boys, soccer training and everything else.  Whew!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

 

Happy 2012!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve.  We made an Angus steak dinner at home(yum!), played Apples to Apples and watched a movie.  We were supposed to get a big snowstorm but it never amounted to much of anything. 

At any rate, it's a 3 day weekend.  Woot! And I got to spend some time in my craft room.  Woot! Woot! I'm working on some Wow card swaps. While I was playing and trying to figure out what I wanted to do I came up with this card.  This uses lots of new stuff that is coming out in the Occasions mini catalog on January 4.

Stamps:  Sweet Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Indigo, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Calyspo Coral

Ink: Early Espresso, Indigo

Other:  new label die!, new pleated ribbon!, lace border punch, Sizzix Top Note die, In Color polka dot brads, tulips embossing folder, clear embossing powder

I'll be back to show you my Wow card swaps.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

New Stuff!

I have a pile of new Stampin' Up! products I'm itching to get my hands on.  Alas, the holiday preparation is keeping me from it.  I did sneak in and create something quick with my new toys.  On this card there is new Sale-a-bration designer paper, a new label die and yummy pleated ribbon!  Love this stuff!  I did a little doodling around the border of the image.

 

I hope your holiday prep is going well.  It's crazy how fast this time of year goes by.  I hope you can find time to soak it all in.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

Christmas tags

Happy Holidays!  How is the holiday prep coming?  I have been doing lots of baking this week. We're hosting my husband's side of the family Christmas Eve and my side of the family on Christmas day.  Still lots to do but it will come together.  It always does.

One of the things i have left to do is wrap presents.  I made these tags up really quickly with my leftovers from the Simply scrappin' gift card holders I made.  I used the two tags die as a base and then used the leftover bits and pieces from the scrappin' kit to decorate.  So easy!

I'll be using these on my gifts this year.

I posted that I got a new do the other day.  I got many inches chopped off. I was ready for a change. Here it is!

I'm loving it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

Santa box

Ooh my!  Can it be December 10 already? It sure can cuz it is!  I have been busy, that's for sure.  But hasn't everybody?  Lots of extra things to do at this time of year.  The Christmas decorations are all up(pretty much), a lot of my Christmas shopping is done, and we are in the thick of the party season.  We are going to my husband's Christmas party tonight.  One of the things on my to do list today is to buy a black shirt to wear tonight.  I have the rest of my outfit picked out, just not the black skirt.  Last year's doesn't fit me, in a good way!  I'll be wearing a pink turtleneck sweater with a scarf, black tights and knee high black boots.  You see the black skirt is all that is missing.  It should be easy enough to find - I hope.  When I go looking for something specific I can never find it.  Wish me luck!

I do have a cute Santa box to share with you.  I gave this to my Stampin' Up! hostess a couple of nights ago.   I CASED this from Debbie Henderson.

He's made with the petal cone die tilted up side down and a smattering of punches.

Punches: Wide oval punch(head), large circle scallop punch(beard), oval scallop punch(hair), stocking punch(eyebrows), circles for eyes from owl punch, bird punch(mustache) small oval punch(buckle) and scallop trim border punch to go all the way around the cone box.  I did this in sections . I think Debbie's version used ribbon but I couldn't get it to lay flat around each curve.

I have lots more to share.  I just have to get some photos taken and get them posted for you.  I also have a big box of new stamping goodies I'm itching to get my hands on.  This is new stuff from the upcoming Occasions mini and Sale-a-bration.  I have lots of Christmas to share with you first though.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Thanksgiving Weekend

I had a fabulous 4 day Thanksgiving weekend!  It was filled with all of the things I love: Family, Food, Shopping, Stamping, and Movies.  It couldn't have been better! We spent Thanksgiving at my brother-in-law's house just 5 minutes away.  My nephew was home from the Marines. Here's a picture of him in his dress blues with my kids.

My boys are both sporting new short haircuts.

I spent a lot of time in my craft room.  I have some upcoming stamp club projects and a class to share with you later  Right now I'm going to share with you some ideas with the stocking sizzix die in the Holiday mini catalog.

This first  idea I saw at the Stampin' Up! convention last Summer.  You take the #2 Sizzix box die and turn it so the small end is up. Cut off the flaps on that side and sandwich it between two stocking dies.  It makes a cute little gift box!

Here is the stocking die with the top opening folded up to reveal a gift card pocket inside.

You can also make a die with the gift card peeking out the top.  Make some out of felt or fabric.  Make a garland of stockings to hang by the fireplace.  So many fun ideas to do with this die!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen