Card Makers Unite!

October 6 is officially World Cardmaking Day - did you know that? You can check out the official website by clicking HERE. If I read correctly, PaperCrafts magazine started this holiday to celebrate Cardmaking all over the world. This is the first year -- so many have not heard about it yet, but give it time, news travels fast in the papercrafting world.

The website is filled with ideas and samples by many different companies. I believe there is also a gallery you can upload your creations to share. Here are two samples posted by Stampin' Up! There are several more on the site. The first one uses Punch Pals stamp set and the awesome scallop punch.

The second card uses Big Deal alphabet and chipboard - cute, huh? Who wouldn't like to receive this for a baby congratulations card?

Do you have any special plans to celebrate World Cardmaking day? If not, call a few friends and get together. It should be a great time! I am considering calling a few of mine!!

happy stampin'

Susan

Doodlely-doo

all images © SU! 1990-2007

Card by Ann Walker

Isn't this a great card? I love the doodle line sets, probably because they are outside of my comfort zone so I can whip up a quick card that isn't my typical fare with ease. Most of the samples I have seen of cards with doodle art are bright, trendy, contemporary ... this one caught my eye because of the subdued colors. I really like the paisley design in the background, don't you? Ann did a great job.

happy stampin'

Susan

It's Thursday!!!

It's 2:30 on Thursday, do you know where your children are?
I know where mine are ... and it's not here!!!
Yep, every Thursday I have a couple of hours all ALONE.
Can you believe that?

For the very first time in my life I have a weekly break: Thursdays 2:30 - 5:30-ish.

Whatever should I do?

Friday Stamp Night

all images ©SU! 1990-2007

Yes, we are stamping @ my house on Friday. Come one, come all! We're making All Occasion Cutie Pie cards -- using, of course, the Cutie Pie Designer Paper from Stampin' Up! The cards above are taken from SCS'er jennstampin and are not the cards we will be making ... but I thought they were cute and showed off the designer paper well -- just so you could get a look at the colors, and jenn's fab work, etc.


We are going to learn how to make this trendy Criss Cross card by Beate. Her card uses Christmas papers, but ours will be Cutie Pie. It's a fun, simple card to make.

Here is a Criss Cross card made with Cutie Pie designer paper by the always awesome Cambria:

And here are more examples of Cutie Pie Cards -- all from SCS -- where my mojo resides. Another card by Jennstampin.

This one by KerryJoyBlack:

And finally, this one by Peanutbee:

So - do you want to come stamp now? I sure hope so. It will be a great night out for just the girls. Relax, make a few cards, eat chocolate and enjoy each other's company. Email me at the link to the right, if you can come.

happy stampin'

Susan

The Big Tour

Today's theme for photos is The Big Tour @ Snapfish.com - photos of your home. This is my offering -- I had to choose something I could crop real close so you can't see the huge mess in my house. For those of you who know I'm not a Suzy Homemaker - let me assure you, it's really, really, really a mess. Being sick for 4 days does nothing for your house when you have 3 teenagers and their friends trampling around with disregard. What I should do is take pictures of all the messes - ha! That would be one for scrapbooking, huh?

Now, I want to share a tin I altered to hold the pieces for the Just Rite Monogram Stamper. I'm going to start calling this my Super Stamper because it's so clever and versatile. I found this tin somewhere, probably Michael's on sale and thought it would be perfect to hold all those letters and numbers that I would probably lose if not contained. Here is the tin and stamper:

Now, the tin open:

And finally, just the tin:

All I did was add ribbon with red line tape around the tin and across the top. Then I stamped my monogram, punched it with the Marvy Scallop punch, and layered on top of a larger Marvy Scallop punch.

Easy peasy, and the monogram on top reminds me what is inside the tin, a definite plus these days! There is a cool video on CraftTvWeekly.com using the Super Stamper - click on over and view it. I think the Stamper now comes with a case, but when I bought mine it wasn't included so I just made my own. I think I like mine just as well.

happy stampin,

Susan

Challenge ... are you up to it?

This could be a really fun challenge and fodder for a mini-album, which is my preferred method of scrapping as of late. Snapfish has a photo contest for this week titled America at Home. Each day has a different theme for photographs such as Morning Rush, or Dinnertime Routines, etc. I'm going to try and take at least one photo every day. If you participate and post photos, let me know and I'll include a link to your blog here.

... and, yes, I am feeling better. I'm not close to 100% yet, but today is the first day I actually got out of bed and dressed myself like a "normal" person!

Happy stampin,
Susan

time for a station break ...

I'm out of commission. I've been yucky since Wednesday ... today is Saturday and not looking much better. I've self-diagnosed myself with a sinus infection. Stay tuned ....

abc page

This layout is actually online at Scrapbooking.com. I wanted to share since school has just started and I know many of us took at least one back to school photo ... right?

all images © SU! 1990-2007

There is a PROJECT CARD available for this layout listing all the supplies, etc. The stamp set showcased is actually on sale this month during Stampin' Up! Fall Frenzy promotion. Email me for all the details!

Happy Stampin,
Susan

Peony in Love

Where, oh where have I been? I've been neglecting my blog ... that's for sure! I'll blame my blog absence on reading. I just finished reading the most wonderful book. It's titled Peony in Love. The story takes place in China circa 1650-1700. Peony is a love sick daughter, set to marry out but fate takes it's course. The story is told from Peony's perspective, which is sometimes accurate, and sometimes tinged by her lovesickness. I enjoyed reading about the cultural mores, traditions and rituals.

This is the second novel by Lisa See that I have read. The first was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, another book set in ancient China. I suppose I am intrigued by the rituals and traditions that are so foreign to our culture. Foot binding and proper education in the arts are major aspects of every girls life in these two books.

If you enjoy reading, I would suggest you consider reading something by Lisa See. If you do, be sure to let me know if you enjoy it.

Next post -- stamping!!

Susan

Simply Scrappin'

This is the first layout I've made with the new Creative License Simply Scrappin' Hostess kit from Stampin' Up! A group of 4 youth from our church worked on staff this summer with a missions organization. They spent 2 weeks working with the children in the mountains of Mexico. These photos were taken at the airport before they left ... believe me, they looked a lot more tired when they returned!

all images © SU! 1990-2007

All supplies are SU! Creative License kit. I cut the stars with my Cricut. The layout is cased from the kit's cover sheet. I added the circles at the bottom and the Certified sticker on the left. My dd is the tall one {in case you wanted to know}.

happy stampin'
Susan