My Happy Stamping Place

Owl card redo

In my continuing quest to go through my stacks of cards and redo some of them with current Stampin' Up! product I ran across this owl card.

The owl punch makes this a pretty easy card and you just add a few more punches for the witch hat.  The oval punch had retired, as well as the ribbon, embossing folder and few other things.  Here is my new version of this card:

 

 I used the large oval punch for the witch hat along with the sweetheart punch.  I cut the sweetheart punch down the middle angling it for the hat. Here is the rest of the products used in this card:

tams# 1558

Product List

• Owl Punch [118074]
• Large Oval Punch [119855]
• Sweetheart Punch [133786]
• Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133679]
• Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [121045]
• Tangerine Tango 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [111349]
• Old Olive 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100702]
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100730]
• Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131199]
• flowerpot dsp
• Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133520]
• Circles Collection Framelits Dies [130911]
• Starburst Framelits Dies [132967]
• 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon [132140]
• Word Window Punch [119857]
• Modern Label Punch [119849]
• Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad [101731]
• Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch [119275]
• Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen [105021]

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

You can click on any of the links above to take you to the product on my website to order it.

 

We had guests this weekend.  My daughter, Rebecca, and her boyfriend, Jake, came to stay with us for 5 days.  I don't like to call my daughter a guest but she lives in Minnesota still after we moved to Texas.  She is in her junior year at college.  We had a great time with them!

We did a little of this:

 

Did some exploring of downtown Austin including the Capitol and the surrounding grounds.

And HOPE Outdoor Gallery at Castle Hill or better known as Graffiti Park.  This place is a 3 story wonderland for artists to express them selves with spraypaint. The thing is it will look different everytime you go. Here is a picture of my daughter, Becca and I on Labor Day weekend at the park. The second picture is at the same spot a month and half later.

 

 

 

We went to lots of good restaurants-Austin is known for it's great food.  It was sad to see them go.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

Graduation

Isn't this graduation gift card holder adorable?  I can't take credit I saw this on Pinterest by LeeAnn Greff. It is made with punches and the the sunburst framelits.  This is going to be a belated graduation present to my nephew, Daniel.  He is off to college in the fall at University of Minnesota going into Food Science.  His parents are very proud.

We have the movers here today.  They are boxing everything up around us.  It took 60 boxes to box up my craft room!  The movers said they have never seen such a big craft room!  The trucks come to take it all away tomorrow.  Then we will be left staring at each other in an empty house wondering what hit us.  It's kind of scary not knowing exactly when you will be reunited with your stuff and if you will ever find it again among all of the boxes.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Going Around in Circles

That's what it feels like lately.  Lots going on here.  We are moving to Round Rock, Texas.  That's right next to Austin in case you don't know. Did I tell you that?  It's not because we have had it with Minnesota winters.  Although, after this last one, that would be a viable reason.  It's because my husband lost his job last June and landed a job with Dell computers.  He started at the end of September and has been living there while I am living here in Minnesota with my 2 teenage boys.  My daughter is away at college and comes home about every other weekend. 

It's been a tough year.  Living apart and raising two teenage boys on my own has been difficult.  My husband tries to get home every other weekend.  We are trying to get our house ready for sale.  I'm overwhelmed with what needs to be done to make our house ready. 

Every one has gone through ups and downs with how they feel about this move.  My husband is the one who wants to move the least.  Minnesota is where all our family and friends are.  I am staying open to the change and try to look at it as an adventure.   I have heard great things about the Austin area!

Doug took me on a cruise for my birthday in February.  It was fabulous to take a break from all of this stress and from the frozen Minnesota tundra!  Less than a week later I was back on a plane flying to Austin to look at some possible houses that popped up on the radar.  Our list of what we want in a house is long.  There has to be a craft room for me and a workshop for Doug.  The boys have their own ideas about what are must haves.  A pool would be nice.  A big kitchen, open floor plan, guest room, workout area, etc.  You get the idea.  It can be tough to find all that in the price range and area we want.  We found two good viable options for houses.  We put an offer on one of the houses.  It's a short sale so it could take awhile to hear back. 

In the meantime, I'm still working at my full-time job during the day, playing taxi driver at night, trying to keep up everything and keep stamping in my life.  Thus the going around in circles!

I must really have had circles on my brain because the Recipe cards I came up with for this month's recipe club all had to do with circles!

Here is the first card.

It's a Caesar Salad recipe.  Lots of circles going on here.  the circles are stamped and punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and lined up along the recipe card.  I trimmed off the edges to give it the look of continual pattern.

The fringe is made with the fringe scissors.  This scissors has been so popular that Stampin' Up! is sold out and working with our vendor to get more!  The chevron ribbon is layered with the Pistachio Pudding ruffled ribbon and placed on top of the fringe.  The flowers are stamped in versamark and punched out with the flower shop punch and coordinating stamp set.

The circle the flowers sit on is the 2 1/2" circle.  The starburst framelit set is the shape behind it.

The second recipe card is a bit more involved.  It is for Pineapple carrot cake.

The designer paper used on this card is called Retro Fresh Designer Paper.  The pineapple is made with the Oval framelits.  I ran it through the bigshot with the honeycomb embossing folder and then inked it with Early Espresso ink. The leaves are made with the oval punch.

The third recipe card is for Baked Sandwiches.  These are so delicious!

Do you notice the circles?  I punched out 1 inch circles out of patterned paper, tacked them down with adhesive and then sewed them to the page with a zigzag stich on my sewing machine.  The corrugated piece is from a piece of cardboard from a Stampin' Up! box.  I pulled apart the top layer and sewed it to the page.  I stapled the orange ribbon on each side of the page. 

That was a long post!  That's what happens when I don't post for a month!  I hope to blog a little bit more often.  Even during our crazy move process. 

Do you have any tips about moving a long way from home?  Do you know the Austin area?  I would love to know more about it. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

November Recipe Cards

After a hiatus of a year or so I have started up another monthly  Recipe club.  To kick off the first session, I made three recipes for the group and designed the 8 x 8 recipe cards for them.  These are 8 x8 recipe cards.  I like the bigger size as it gives me more options for designs.  The first card was for a dessert.  I made a punch art cake and did a tulle skirt across the page much like the Christmas card I posted awhile back.  This is crumb cake tulle and it is available in the Clearance Rack on my online ordering website for only $2.79 while supplies last!

 

 This Crunchy Asian salad recipe card was made with a combination of stamping and punches.

 

 

This Crockpot Beef Stroganoff Recipe card is based off of a card my downline, Angela, created for here Recipe club.  I created a pot that has a lid that holds the recipe when you lift the lid.  I love interactive pages!

I hope your Holiday preparations are going well.  I have much to do to prepare for a back to back celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my husband's side of the family followed up by my side of the family.  Such great pleasure hosting the holidays for our families!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Thinking of You

We made this card in stamp club earlier this month.  It is adapted from a card by Melissa Davies. The label is stamped in crumb cake.  I punched out the middle with my 1 inch circle punch and then went back and punched it out with the new Artisan label punch.  The labels are all popped up with dimensionals. 

Recipe: Stamps: Label Love, 130622 for unmounted, $17.95, 130619 for wood mounted, $24.95

Ink: Crumb Cake

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Neutrals designer paper

Other:  Artisan punch, 130920, $15.95, crumb cake seam binding, Bitty Butterfly punch, 129406, $15.95, Delicate Designs embossing card edges, 127023, $8.95, pearls, stampin' dimensionals

I have been working hard on my card swaps for the upcoming Stampin' Up! convention.  I completed one Wow card swap of 30 cards.  These took me a looooong time!  I prepped some of the pieces and brought them with me to a soccer tournament last weekend.  I have to fit the time in whenever I can! I have at least 3 more Wow swap designs to go.  I have to get some more time in my craft room to come up with them.  Send mojo my way!

While I was in my craft room the other night I was watching the Voice finale.  Bruno Mars performed on it and he was fantastic!  I knew he was coming to town in July in Minneapolis/St. Paul so I decided that's it!  I went on Stub Hub and found two tickets to the concert.  I'm taking my youngest, Sam, to his first concert!  He is beyond excited!  Me too! This will be a blast to take him.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Happy Valentines Day 2013!

Valentine's day is so much fun, don't you think?  I have always thought of it as a day to show love to my whole family, not just my sweetheart.  We would get heart shaped pizza and I would set the table with valentine's placemats, decorate the house for Valentine's and get everyone a gift.  This year will be a little different.  My daughter is away in her first year of college and my two sons will be at ski club.  My husband and I might be able to sneak away for a dinner for just the two of us!  I will miss the family dinner though.

I have no more kids in elementary school so the days of exchanging Valentines with classmates is over. *sigh* My youngest has a girlfriend.  It's 7th grade young love! I had fun making a few goodies for her. Here is the gift bag he will be giving to her today.

The Fancy Favor gift box is a Stampin' Up! Sizzix die.  It's my go to box when I want a little cute gift packaging.  You gotta have one of those!

Fancy Favor Gift box, item#115965, $39.95

I also made one of the cute owl pillow boxes I have been seeing everywhere!

Sam is filling both of these with chocolate and giving them to her today.

My 9th grader came home with a note from his Language arts teacher that the class wants to exchange Valentines.  Imagine my glee!   I started thinking up cute ideas.  I came up with this Bingo card idea I made in Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio software:

He thought is was a dumb idea and not Valentine's related.  I pleaded with him to at least let me make it for his teacher.  I guarantee she will love it!  He said no.  *sigh*.  Then I found this cute My Digital studio download for Valentines.  It was only $2.95!  I re-sized them and printed up 32 for his classmates.

Aren't these cute?  Nick didn't think so.  He had other ideas.  He wants to just hand out a starburst candy to everyone and call it a day. Breaks my heart. *sigh* I'm not appreciated in my own home. Teenage boys, whaddya gonna do? Well, I'm going to give these to my co-workers today.  I will have my youngest give him to his teammates at gymnastics.  Someone will appreciate them.

You can purchase this digital download and all other products on my website here.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day with your loved ones!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Kathleen

A kiss for you

Don't you love punch art?  We made this clever card at my upline, Karen's meeting.  The candy kiss is made with the Blossom Petals XL punch.  We used the largest petal and cut off the frilly parts.  So easy and cute! We wrapped aluminum foil around it to make it look like the wrapping off of a Hershey's kiss. The greetings from Petite Pairs is the perfect compliment!

Blossom Petals Xl Punch - by Stampin' Up!

Item# 121808, $16.95 each.  You can order this punch and the rest of the supplies at my website here.

Recipe: Stamps: Petite Pairs,(item#122495 for wood mount and 122497 for clear mount)

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Real Red Cooerdinations cardstock, Naturals White, Chocoalte Chip

Other: Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing folder, Blossom Petals Xl punch, small oval punch, real red ribbon

Item#129378, $7.95 each

This card was so cute we made it at stamp club this month too.  The ladies loved it how easy it was to make with the punch!

We are getting snow and sleet here in Minnesota.  I have to go pick my son up from work and pick up some groceries for a lunch I'm providing at work tomorrow.  I'd rather stay put in my warm cozy house but that is not always an option, hmmm. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

Baby Bundle

Today I am sharing with you a punch art card we made in stamp club this month.  I stumbled across this baby bundle punch art sometime ago but am just getting around to using it on a card.  The addition of the tickets from the That's the Ticket stamp set adds just the right touch if you ask me. *wink*

One of the things I used to LOVE to do a lot more is make healthy yummy home-made meals for my family. Since going back to work full-time a few years ago I have less time and energy to do so.  With the start of the new year I want to dedicate myself to making more time for making these meals again. One of my favorite places to get new recipes is Pinterest.  Do you love Pinterest as much as I do?! I bet you do!  Here are a couple I made this weekend.

This recipe for Beef Tips was yummy.  It was easy too but it takes a long time.  Perfect for a weekend day at home.  I could smell this cooking all afternoon.  Yum!  Here is a link to it on Pinterest.

To go with it I made this bread. 

Doesn't it look delicious?  Well, it was!  And how!  Again, an easy no knead recipe that just takes about 3 hours with the rising times.  Here is the link to the recipe on Pinterest.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as well as the card!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Graduation Weekend

My daughter graduated Friday night from High School.  It is so bittersweet.  A big milestone for sure.  But another step towards leaving. It brought back many memories from my own high school graduation.  I remember the feeling of freedom and excitement after the ceremony. She went to the all night grad party at the high school and to many Graduation Open Houses. Good times.

Here she is with her two best friends.  She's the one on the right. These three have been best friends throughout elementary, junior high and high school. They are going in 3 different directions at the end of the Summer.  Each to a different college in a different state.  Things are different now.  They can keep in touch via text, facebook, and skyping.

I made some graduation cards for some of the Open Houses.

You can make your own dp.  I made the one for the blue card with the greeting from teeny tiny wishes and circle circus. You open it up to a pocket with money in it.  What every grad wants!

It was a strange weekend. Nick was out of town for a soccer tournament and Sam was at a friend's cabin. It was just my husband, my daughter and I for the weekend.  She was busy with graduation Open Houses so my husband and I were pretty much on our own.  We went out to eat a couple of times, went to a movie and even on a motorcycle ride.  Our  weekends are usually so consumed with the kids that we don't have a lot of time for ourselves.  I told my husband we need to get some friends.  We're going to be bored when the kids all move out!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

Cupcakes!

Happy Easter-almost!  I'll be making those yummy chocolate chip cookie, oreos, brownie bars for my family's gathering tomorrow.  I have shared it with my husband's side of the family but my side of the family hasn't had the pleasure yet.  My side are total sweet addicts too.  They are going to loooooove it!

I had stamp club Thursday night.  Beth was our hostess and she brought some lovely treats.  There was this fruit pizza.

And these adorable bunny cake pops!  So cute and yummy!

I have made no secret of my love of cupcakes.  More to look at than to eat.  I found this adorable card by Linda Aarhus. I used some different pucnhes to create the cupcake and mounted them on the scallop circle. I added a little decoration on the inside which you can see peeking through the card.

This satisfied my eye candy sweet tooth! Hah! The designer paper is from the Occasions mini catalog called Sweet shop.  The cupcake paper and the embossed heart paper the cupcakes are on are both from this adorable paper pack.  But hurry!  It's only available through the end of this month.  You can order it through my online website here.

Have a Happy Easter!

Kathleen