this is the cutest thing ...

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

This card is adorable! Patty Jo sent it in as an entry for the blog candy {scroll down to earlier post}. Now, while the blog candy drawing is completely random ... I had to share this card 'cause of it's cuteness factor! I think you'll agree ...



Here is what Patty Jo wrote:

I made this cowboy card with a textured paper for the doors. I cut out leather hinges and the inside cowboy is a slider, that slides back and forth. I glued wires for the legs and arms and reins for the horse, also mustache. The corners are sizzix punch outs. I stamped the red and white paisley background myself, using real red stampin up paper, black paisley and used the white stampin up pin to outline the design. It is real cute in real life.

Here is a peek with one door open:

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

And, here with both door swung wide! Remember, he is on a slider ... so the cowboy moves too! See, told ya -- this is adorable, isn't it? A big thanks to Patty Jo for sharing.

happy stampin'

Susan

whimsical

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

Garden Whimsey is the stamp set used here. I like the use of colors ... probably because these are not colors I would gravitate toward for a card combo. But it works nicely!

This week is going to be busy, busy, busy. My daughter is back from the mission trip and we have to pick up contacts and order new glasses for her because her glasses broke on the trip. She can also register for fall semester this week ... so a trip to the college is in order. I hope we can buy her books while we are there too. She will officially be a college student in August! wow.

My son is having a bit of oral surgery Friday to remove his wisdom teeth. So we will wait until the next week to buy his college textbooks and settle his account.

I can't believe summer is almost over ... I don't feel like it ever really got started! Don't forget to enter the blog candy contest - see post below. I haven't had too many entries, so your chances are good to win!!

happy stampin'
Susan

Sunday Challenge

Don't forget to check the BLOG CANDY POST below.

Over at 2ps they often post blog challenges ... things to post or write about on your blogs. It's interesting, but I've never really participated until today. The challenge is really for Sunday, but I'll forget to do it after church tomorrow, so I'm going to add it now.


Here is the Challenge: Make a list of your top ten things on your mind right now. At the time you blog. Date it.... mark down the time.. and just number 1-10

Saturday 8:38 pm
July 28, 2007

1. So glad our daughter is home from Mexico.
2. Sort of sad that she doesn't understand her mom and dad.
3. Thinking about summer, and how to make the most of what's left.
4. Also thinking about the things need to be organized around the house and how I will ever get it all done.
5. Wanting to make time to visit my sister before school starts back.
6. Wishing I wasn't so fat.
7. Relieved that summer school is over for my son.
8. Thinking how cool my kids are.
9. Glad dh's outpatient test is over and he is healthy.
10. Amazed that I have such a blessed life - not perfect, but so very blessed!

chillin'

I'm chillin' in the recliner this afternoon after getting about 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Hubby had an outpatient test scheduled, so we were up really, really early. He's slept most of today, but I'm hoping to skip the nap and head to bed earlier tonight.

Today's share is a beautiful scrapbook page by Cheryl Kelly Van Domelen. Cheryl said not only is this her first black & white layout ... but it is her first b&w photo too! I think she did a wonderful job.

If you are on my email list, you should have received an email about the Punch Box Special in August. If you didn't get it, email me and I'll forward the information to you asap. It's a really great deal - especially if you combine the special w/ my tax free deal.

happy stampin'

Susan

Canadian share today ...

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

Today's card was made by Heather Leech, a Canadian demo. She used Petals & Paisleys; Paisley background, brads, designer paper and some nice shimmer on the petals. Heather said she made this card for a friend's birthday. Great card Heather! Thanks for sharing with us.

Don't forget to enter for blog candy -- see post below for details!

happy stampin,
Susan

more candy ...

It's time to offer more blog candy. I promised a second round this month so here it is:

This time it is blank coasters {round and square}, library card pockets, mini gel pens and two note card holders ready to hold your card creations!

To enter, email pictures of your latest creations with permission to share here. Make sure you don't link it in the comments, because I may not see it -- click here for my email. It can be any type of papercraft; scrapbooking, stamping, photo frames, altered items ... anything you'd like to share with me and my little blog world. The candy winner will be chosen randomly, so it's not a contest of any sort. Please put blog candy in the email subject and let's get this party started! I'll choose a winner on Aug. 1 so if you haven't made anything lately you've got plenty of time to do it now!

happy stampin'

Susan

Bella!

Sharing another card, this time from Diane Davidson. She sent this card as an entry for blog candy, with permission to share here. This is a Bella! I don't have any Bella stamps, but they are very popular right now. I've seen tons of really cute cards using Bellas and Diane's card certainly qualifies as one of them! Lovin' the glitter on the package ties! Thanks for sharing Diane.

happy stampin'

Susan

Love this card

all images © SU! 1990-2007

I saw this card on an email loop and just loved it. I immediately emailed the designer, Marjori Miller, and asked her permission to share it here on my blog. I think she did a fabulous job with the design, colors, paper choice and ... of course, stampin'. I love the distressed edges of the cardstock. I hope you like it too. You can visit Marjori's demo web site for more information about her. As best as I can tell the supplies used are Bareback stamp set, Outlaw designer paper, twill tape and chipboard.

We had a great time at stamp club tonight. I hope to photograph some of the cards and get them posted next. And, I haven't forgotten that I promised more blog candy this month. Stay tuned for that information too!!

happy stampin'
Susan

Stampin' Crazy

Sometimes I just like to go crazy stamping as much as possible. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to spend all your time crafting? Well, I guess that's not being realistic, but a girl can dream! Since I'm busy getting ready for Friday night, I thought I would share a little something to look at.

These two cards are very simple to put together. In fact, you could actually assemble them using left over pieces of cardstock from other projects. Both cards are small notecards. The first one is about 3x3 inches, and the second one is approximately 3x4 inches. Perfect for gift enclosures or to hang on a gift bag {or box}.

all images © SU! 1990-2007

we have a winner ...

Pat Sergeant wins the blog candy - woot - go Pat! Here is her entry:

It's kind of small ... hope you can see it ok. The image Pat emailed me was very tiny! It's a great card. Love the top treatment with scallops!

Stay tuned for more blog candy later in the week ...

happy stampin'

Susan

sweet thing

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

Isn't this a sweet card? And it uses so many new Stampin' Up! products ... yummie!
See the rhinestone brad? The new In-Colors? How about that ribbon? Just lovin' this card today.

Only 1 more day to enter the drawing for Blog Candy. See the July 11 post for how to enter. Then stay tuned for the winner!

ps ...

We're stamping Friday night @ my house. If you are in the upstate area of SC, email me for directions. : ) And ... don't forget to enter for the blog candy {see July 11 post}.

another enabler alert

{Click photo to enlarge}

Gosh, I'm getting really bad about posting enabler alerts! Maybe I am shopping too much -- do ya think that is possible? Shhh ... don't mention that to my hubby, ok?

Found these today at Big Lots. $3 each. I didn't buy one of each, even though you may think so ... I left the baby boy, baby girl, wedding and a couple of alpha sets there. Here are the same sets a little more up close.

This is one of my favs

I love this stamp set. I hope you can see it ok -- I didn't realize the background of the photo was so busy.

As for this stamp set, I have reserved using it for only my best friends because of the sentiment ... but I do love it so much! I think I need to find a new sentiment so I can use it more. The stamps are from River City Rubberworks, stick pin & beads are from Club Scrap, flowers are Prima {which I have almost as much as I do ribbon} cardstock is SU! and I have no idea where the lace came from.

This is the card open. It is a tri fold card, made by scoring w/ my new handy-dandy Scor-Pal.

happy stampin'

Susan

and she's off ...

My daughter that is, off to Mexico on a church mission trip. Last year she and my oldest son went for one week ... this year, she is going {without her brother} for two weeks to work on staff. wow. I just talked to her and they were in Houston on a layover. She is so excited, and that makes me feel great for her. I know the experiences over the next two weeks are going to shape and mold her even more. Please put her on your prayer list if possible. Safe travel is my main concern.

Also, don't forget about the blog candy I'm offering. Scroll down to the July 11 post to read the details on how to enter. I've gotten some very good entries -- and the drawing is totally random, so send me an email with something you've made recently and I'll enter your name. Just please don't link it to a comment here because I may miss it.

Wanna see what a bug can do???

My Cricut bug, that is! I made this card and it was so easy ... ok, it's nothing fancy, but I like it. And I like that I could cut the phrases out in any color I wanted. Cool beans. The cardstock is Farmer's Market from Club Scrap - one of my most favorite kits ... so far ... ahem. I used a Marvy scallop punch, Colorbox white ink and ribbon from W-mart.

Here is the inside of the card too. The picture is a little darker than I had hoped, but I couldn't change it much more w/out making the other colors wonky. And, don't forget to read the post below about my blog candy. I wanna have lots of people to draw names from!

happy stampin,

Susan

Ribbon Carnival and Blog Candy!!!

Today is Ribbon Carnival over at Craft Critique. If you haven't visited Craft Critique, it's a really cool website that offers reviews of craft products from people like me and you. You get an unbiased opinion on products, and there are often postings with great general information.

The most exciting part of today's Ribbon Carnival is that my blog post from a few days ago is linked. Isn't that cool? Ok, so they got my name wrong and wrote Sharon instead of Susan ... but ... it's still a link back to my ol' bloggity-blog. Go visit and read all you ever wanted to know about ribbons!

Now on to the details about blog candy - yay!

That's right, it's time for blog candy! This candy is made up of assorted cardstock, accordian tags, unmounted rubber {no wood}, 3 mini storage containers, and 4 card kits {you'll need the assorted cardstock and a stamp of your choosing to complete the cards}.



Here is the way to win:

Email me a picture of a card, scrapbook page, or other papercraft project you've completed recently -- with permission to post here of course. The winner will be drawn randomly from everyone who emails me a picture. Please send your submissions to StampwithSusan {at} gmail.com. My email is also listed to the right in the margin.



I'll choose a winner on July 18th. I'll have another blog candy post later this month.



happy stampin'

Susan

another share

Before I share today's card creation ... I have to tell you that

I have been bitten by a bug!

A Cricut bug! I got the machine this morning, and gosh, I am already in LOVE! I cut a title for a scrapbook page that has been sitting on my shelf for the longest time. I sort of knew what I wanted the title to look like, but didn't know how to achieve the look ... ta da! Cricut Jasmine knew just what to do and she cut the letters just perfectly. A.C. Moore had the machines on sale today and now I am sooo glad that I drove over to get one! WOOT!

Now on to our regularly scheduled card moment:

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

Life's been good lately for making cards. I don't usually have much time to make things for myself. But, with the Independence day holiday I've had some extra time - whew - and I've been able to make a few things to share.

This card is a tri fold. The top folds over just enough to make a flap to attach the stamped images. Of course I scored the tri fold w/ my new handy, dandy Scor-Pal. I held it shut w/ a clip by Heidi Swapp. The ribbon {which is really brown} is from Target and everything else is Stampin' Up! I hope you like it.This may be one of our stamp club projects for July. We're stamping on July 20 if you want to come!

happy stampin'

Susan

Fun, fun, fun!

That's what today was all about ... FUN! My best bud, Joan, and I went to the grand opening of our LSS. Lots of people! They had a free make-n-take card {shown}, delicious cake and goodie bags. Yay! Of course, from there we just had to run by Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Walmart and Panera Bread. Yummie. It was a good day.

The card we made uses Doodlebug paper, and the flower is a Quickutz die. We just punched that sucker out of the card front, then stuck it on the inside w/ a bit of foam tape. Cutie-patootie, and super easy. Tied the ribbon on and voila, a great card. I likey!

do you have extra supplies ?

Don't we all have more craft supplies than we'll probably ever be able to use? I know that I certainly do. Well, I've found a wonderful charity to donate a huge box of 12x12 papers to, and I wanted to post the information in case you wanted to donate some items too.

Stefanie Hamilton is planning to work with a support program that she claims literally saved her life while she was undergoing cancer treatments. The program is called LifeSpring, and Stefanie is seeking donations to help each participant to make a journal.



You can read the entire post here: Stefanie's Request
And, this is a portion of the email Stefanie sent me this week:

Thanks so much for offering to donate supplies to the
LifeSpring program. It really helped me to regain so much of my life, and
I don't want the program to end due to lack of funding. Therefore, I'm doing all I can to lessen the financial impact of the classes on the participants.I will be collecting all of the supplies and sorting through them. What we can't use for classes will be sold at a scrapbooking garage sale (hopefully in September), and the proceeds will go to the program. I'm hoping to be able to raise enough money through the garage sale to sponsor some of the participants who can't afford the program, because the grant ends in August. So you can be sure that your generous donation of supplies will go directly to help cancer patients in enhancing their quality of life while they are undergoing treatment. In the future, I will be attempting to usethe LifeSpring program to do half-day workshops for cancer patients, where we will be exploring healing through art. I would not be able to do this without the support of people like yourself, so thank you so much!!!

Stefanie has successfully completed treatment for breast cancer. If you've ever been close to a person going through cancer treatments, you have some idea of the dificulty they go through. Cancer treatments are rough. There is nothing pretty about it.


If you have anything extra around your house, consider sending a box to Stefanie. It will do another person good.

conserving ribbon

I am a ribbon addict!

I formally confess to all of you out there in blogdom.

I love ribbon! It's not that I use a lot of it. I just like looking at it. It's so pretty rolled up in my glass jars, and trailing off my shelves ... and curled up in my ribbon holders ... and wrapped around the ribbon cards ...


Ok, you get it, I have waaay too much ribbon. I should make a concerted effort to use ribbon whenever and where ever I am able. But instead, I find myself trying to find ways to conserve and horde my ribbons. Every inch counts, you know.


So, I thought I would share a ribbon conservation technique that I employ often. If I am scrapping or making a card I will cut the ribbon so that none is hidden and, therefore, wasted behind cardstock. Take a look here:






This is a birthday card in progress. Nothing has been adhered yet, I am checking my design elements to make sure they are in proper place. See the beautiful ribbon? It appears to be one strip, right? Wrong! Take a look:

I actually cut the ribbon so that the area behind the stickers has no ribbon. Now, I know you are thinking ... How much does that save? An inch? ... Well, maybe on this card ... but other projects may have larger area where ribbon would be covered. In fact, I made 4 cards tonight and by cutting my ribbon, I actually save 8 1/2 inches of that gorgeous material by piecing it! If I had not cut the ribbon, I would not have been able to get 4 cards from one small piece. Take a look:

Four cards with one length of ribbon! All the ribbon was adhered using red line tape. The birthday stickers are by Cloud 9, each card is embossed w/ Cuttlebug folders, the ink is Colorbox white and the beautiful ribbon is actually unknown! {it was given to me}

happy stampin'

Susan

altered gift box

This is an altered gift box I made a good while back, but I don't think I ever posted it ... did I??

Well, in any event, it makes for a good post today since there is not much else going on around here. The box is a paper mache box found in craft aisles in almost every store. I covered it w/ Stampin' Up papers and topped the box with a stamped tag and felt flowers from American Crafts. Below is a view from the top.

Altering a box makes for a nice personalized gift, don't you think?

happy stampin'

Susan

new card to share

Card image removed temporarily

Yay! I finally made a card ... it's been so long. I've been secretly cleaning off my stampin' table {I say secretly because my family would have a ball teasing me if they thought I was attempting to clean off that table -- not to mention that my husband would probably begin thinking about where all that stuff came from, and we don't need any questions asked about that ... if you know what I mean!}. So, I've actually made enough progress that I made a card last night using my new and nifty Scor-Pal tool.

But before I get to the card details, I have to make an announcement:

HOBBY LOBBY HAS CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ALREADY ON SALE!!!

What's up with that? It's just the first week of July for pete's sake. Let me enjoy my summer! And, before you think it's just a box or two ... NO! It's like 4 whole isles in the store. BTW - they were also having a great clearance sale {80%} on a lot of cool crafting stuff that I just *happened* to need!


OK - back on track here:
If you are a frequent visitor to my blog, you may remember a post waay back when I said I had a new toy I would share soon. Well, soon is over, but I finally played with my Scor-Pal last night. Really cool toy! There is a project on the World Card Making Day site for an accordian card using scor-pal.

happy stampin'

Susan

mini sets and the new catlaog

Aimee over at SCS made a list of all the mini sets that did and did not make the catalog. This is very helpful for me as a demo because I can't demo retired sets {boo hoo}. And I try to keep the retired sets seperate from the current sets so I don't confuse myself or my customers! {believe me ... I am easily confused!} I'm marking my fav sets that made it in the Fall/Winter Collection in yellow and the sets I am going to miss terribly in orange.

Breakdown of Mini Catalog Sets:
A Merry Little Christmas – holiday......NO
Alphabet – wheel – winter..............NO - I thought this was a really cool wheel!!
Arachnaphobia – wheel – holiday........YES
Basics Outline - jumbo wheel - summer....YES
Best Bar Codes – spring........NO
Best Friends – holiday........(DON'T THNK SO...JUST ALPHABET SET )
Big Blooms – spring.............NO
Big Pieces – winter....YES
Bud Basics – summer.....YES
Buds – jumbo wheel - summer.....NO
Bundle of Joy – spring...YES
Bunny Hugs – spring.....NO
Butterfly of Happiness – winter....NO
By Sea – summer (NO...JUST "BY LAND")
Carte Postale – winter......YES
Clowning Around – summer...NO
Cowboy Kid – summer...NO
Crab & Company – spring...NO
Doodle Alphabet – spring...NO
Doodle Numbers – spring...NO
Doodle That – spring....NO
Doodle This – spring...YES (AND COORDNATING JUMBO WHEEL)
Edgy Eloquence – summer...nO
Fancy Flexible Phrases – winter......no
Flip Flops – wheel – summer.....NO
French Flair – winter....YES
Glorious Gift – spring......NO
Going My Way – jumbo wheel – summer......NOPE
Happy Thoughts – winter......NO
Heavenly Peace – holiday....NO
Holiday Trim – holiday.....NO
Jolly Holiday – holiday....NO
Jolly Trees – wheel – holiday....NO
Just Between Fiends – holiday...NO
Just So Sayings – spring....NO
Laundry Notes – summer.......NO
Leave a la Carte – jumbo wheel – winter.....YES
Like it a Latte – winter.....NO
Love Matters – winter......NO
Nature Prints – summer.....NO
Off the Chart – spring....NO
Office Accoutrement – spring...YES!
Ornamassortment – holiday....NO
Pattern of Friendship – summer.....NO
Perennial Friendship – winter....NO (JUST PEREN. FAVORITES)
Perfect Ending – holiday..........NO
Petals – wheel – spring....YES
Polka Dots & Paisley – spring....YES
Polka Dots & petals – spring....YES
Polka-Dot Posies – summer......NO
Quick Cards – holiday.....NO
Sandy Shells – wheel – spring.....NO
Sassy & Seasonal – holiday....NO
Sheltering Tree – summer......NO
Shore Thing – summer........NO
Small Sayings –winter......NO
Snow Flurries – holiday.....YES
Spunky Alphabet – summer,,,,NO
Spunky Numbers – summer...NO
Sweet on You – winter.....NO
Tagger’s Dozen – winter...YES
Taking Shape – holiday.....NO
That’s Nice – spring...NO
The Wheel Thing – summer......NO
Think Big – holiday......NO
Thoroughly Thankful – holiday......YES
Trees Three – winter......NO
Wish You Were Here – summer......NO
Wishing You – holiday..........NO(JUST "WISHING YOU CHEER")
Woodland Cottage – winter......NO
You Make Me Happy – spring......NO

Happy 4th

Happy Independence Day!

coordinates

I found a post on SplitCoast that listed the coordinating colors for the new SU! Designer Papers. *Yawp* {her scs name, don't know her true identity, lol!} emailed SU! specifically to find out which colors of cardstock go with the new papers. Here is the reply from SU!:

Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
Cerise: Real Red, Very Vanilla
Charbon: Basic Gray, Very VanillaCreepy
Crawly: Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So SaffronDarling
Doodles: Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Linen Prints: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion
Notations No.2: More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal
Prints: Monochromatic papers available in Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava, Lovely Lilac, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, Rose Red, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Uptown: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky

it's here ... it's really, really here

The new Stampin' Up! catalog, of course! July 1 ... today I can order all manner of new goodies. woot! You can view it online HERE. And, I have copies ... so call or email me to get your own copy to peruse!



I am in love with a *few* of the new stamp sets. Priceless is pretty cool, the new Wild West alpha rocks, So Happy has my fav paisleys, and the scrapbooking papers are amazing as well as the new Simply Scrapping kits which are larger and contain more paper than ever! There is a new photo corner punch I may need ... along w/ the Pretties kit - wow-wee that is a must have {imagine dying those lovely white flowers w/ your reinkers}! Oh, I didn't even mention the new clipboards ... totally awesome!



On another note, I am going to discontinue posting weekend challenges because I always FORGET to post them on time. Lame of me, I know. But, I can't seem to get it done at the right time and that's terrible, so I feel it best to stop trying. I'll come up with something else interesting {I hope} but until then I'll just continue to blog about boring mundane things. LOL!

happy stampin'
Susan