Stamping with Jamie - Adventures in Stamping and Scrapbooking

2008-11-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Craft Fair Items

Words to and from are on the back

2007-07-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

Some New Scrapbook Layouts

Last night I headed up to Clipper Street with some friends and was actually able to get some scrapbooking done! I'm currently working on all of 2006, so it felt good to make a bit of a dent in the year.

Plus, I was able to walk around with my photos and look for matching paper and accessories (so much fun!).

Here are the three layouts I was able complete:

This is Easter '06 - Devin's first experience with the Best family tradition on decorating Easter eggs. The other side is Easter morning, she couldn't believe a big bunny would come and hide candy eggs for her or that he would leave a pile of presents on her high chair. It was a pretty exciting day.

Here's Devin's 2nd birthday.

2007-07-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

The amazing crop-a-dile

Here's a video featuring all the neat things you can do with a crop-a-dile from Nth Degree. I had no idea how much this one little tool could do until I saw this video! After watching this, I'm adding the crop-a-dile to my wish list! Good thing SU now sells this handy tool :)

Here's the link to the video. Enjoy!

2007-06-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Brand New SU Idea Book & Catalogue

I just got my brand new Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue (Fall ~ Winter Collection 2007) in the mail and I can’t put it down!

I am in love with all the new amazing designer series paper in the new catalogue. The beautiful patterns on both sides of the paper are going to make it impossible to choose which side to use!

I’ve been looking for some good fall paper and see exactly what I’m looking for in the new “Creepy Crawly” set. I’m also wanted something to use for last Christmas and think that “Dashing” is exactly what I need! And last, but not least, the set “Darling Doodles” will be perfect to use when scrapbooking my girls. The “Prints Designer Series Papers”, which are available in 16 of SU’s most popular colours, looks amazing. The only problem will be deciding what colours to get! Close to Cocoa and So Saffron top my list (for now).

I’m also excited about the Simply Scrappin’ kits. The colour combinations are perfect, the self-adhesive die cuts look amazing and the patterns are perfect! I’m already addicted to these kits for scrapbooking when I’m feeling a little lazy, and now I have a whole new batch of kits to play with! My wish list now includes, “Primary Colors” (someone needs to tell SU to add a U to colours for Canadian spelling, because it really bugs me to see it spelled the U.S. way), “Confetti”, “Home Again” and “Out and About”.

I wish that my wish list was going to end with that, but they’ve added a bunch of Accents and Elements to the IBC and almost ALL of them are now on my list!

I’d also like to give a few more props to SU for really stepping up their chipboard selection, adding a scallop circle punch, a Pretties Kit, rhinestone brads, and a crop-a-dile! WOW!
I haven’t even really been able to absorb all the great stamp sets yet! Hopefully my girls will give me a bit of free time to really get into the catalogue tomorrow.

2007-06-04T19:15:00.001-07:00

A Crafters Paradise!

Check out this amazing craft room. It's owned by Cathy, a hobby SU demonstrator for the last six years.

I can only imagine how much fun it must be to have so much room (and stuff) available for crafting and stamping. What's really incredible is how clean she keeps it all. I know that even if I had this amazing space I'd have it looking like a disaster area in no time.

2007-05-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Great Blog

Okay, I know I've been slacking off and not posting anything lately (I'm sorry!), but I do have several good reasons.

Reason number one: Out of the past 60 days, my husband has been away for 30 days!

Reason number two: I'm training for my first Sprint Triathlon and it's become way more important than stamping or crafting (I can hear the boo's, I know, how could anything become more important? But it has. I'm trying to step up my training to two hours a day in order to be ready for Aug. 11 and I feel like I have so much work to do before then! Only 12 weeks to become a great athlete!)

Reason number three: I've discovered Facebook.com and am spending way too much time on there when I'm actually online.

Since I'm not posting anything good these days, I wanted to let you know about an awesome blog that is updated DAILY! It's my good friend Carrie's blog, the Artistic Avenger. I can't believe all the good stuff she has on there! I'm in love with the circle card she did - it's too funny! Be sure to check it out.

Oh, and I also wanted to let everyone know that I'm offically letting my SU demonstratorship expire after June 30. I just can't keep up with the quarterly sales requirements with everything else on my plate. But if you are looking for an excellent demonstrator in the White Rock area, Carrie is your girl. I'll be ordering from her and taking classes pretty soon!

2007-05-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

Stampin' Up!'s Retired List is Here!

SU just released their retiring stamp set list and I can't believe all the awesome sets that are retiring! I have a number of the sets and am so glad I do. Favourite Teddy Bear, for example, is one of my all time favourites and it's on it's way out!

I can't imagine a set being as great and as versatile as some of my favourites, but some how, SU always manages to impress me with each new catalogue. Now I'm just dying to see the new catalogue in July. I don't even know if I can wait that long!

But, before July I will have to get busy and get all my favourite sets before they are gone! The set Girlfriends (and matching accessory set) has been on my wish list for ages, so I better grab it while I still have a chance. Not to mention Pretty Princess, Simply Circles and a New Little Someone... So many sets, so little time :)

To check out the retiring list, click here.

2007-04-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Super Cities Walk for MS

This totally isn't stamping or crafting related, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am participating in the Super Cities Walk for MS this Sunday (April 22) and am looking to top of my pledge sheet for the MS Society.

My web page for the walk is located here. Please check it out!

Also, I'd love to have some walking buddies. E-mail me if you'd like to join me on Sunday and walk for MS.

2007-04-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

My Poor Old Camera

I haven't been doing much stamping or scrapbooking lately - I really need to get some layouts done. But things have been busy lately. On March 22 my oldest daughter turned 3, so we celebrated with 3 birthday parties. I know, crazy, but it just seemed to work the best. On her actual birthday, we celebrated with my parents, brother and his wife, then on the 24th we had her kids party and on the 25th we had a party with my husband's side of the family. It was lots of fun and lots of work.

Unfortunately, our camera died just before Devin's birthday. Well, I say died, Ken says that it wouldn't have died if I hadn't dropped it from the fireplace onto tile :) I borrowed my parent's camera and hope that I got some good shots - sometimes it's hard to tell with digital.

Although I need to get a new camera, I still have tons of photos to scrapbook! But I still need a new camera. I would like to get a really good digital camera and take a photography class to learn how to use it. So, for right now I'm looking into good digital cameras. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Oh, and I also wanted to let everyone know about a great promo going on at Precious Memories in Langley. My friend Andie has posted some details on her blog.

2007-03-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Address Book made with SU's 5x5 On Board Art Journal

I was purusing the Internet when I came across another awesome project that I just might have to try making - an address book using SU's 5x5 On Board Art Journal from their current Spring Mini catalogue. Colleen, an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Cincinnati, posted her creation on her blog Stampin with the Goddess and it is beautiful!

She has posted full instructions on how to create this address book as well as a template in MS Word for the address pages. To view her tutorial, click here.

There are lots of other great ideas for projects with this little book. Here are just a few other ideas I've found for these adorable little books!

1) A Baby Shower Gift - you can divide it into three parts for the actual baby shower: Gifts (to write who gave what present), Wishes/Wisdom (for guests to write a message of advice), and Memories (for pictures from the shower or for Mom to write her memories of the event).

2) A Mother's Day Gift - you can scrapbook a few small pages of your kits for their grandparents

3) A Cookbook - what a cute place to store all your favourite recipes! It will look adorable sitting on your kitchen counter (I just might have to do this in addition to the address book), or a drink recipe book (see here).

4) A Journal - 'nuf said :)

Any other ideas? Let me know!

2007-03-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

A Scrapbooking Pocket Book

Tricia Morris from Craft TV Weekly.com made this cute pocket book that certainly adds pop to any scrapbooking project! It's made with CD mailer envelopes and features pages of mini envelopes that pop up, ready to be filled with tags and photos!

To enter the Scrapbook Lounge and see a video on how to make this neat project, click here.

To make things even easier, the whole kit is available through Club Scrap Fizz (see left). Click here to learn more.

2007-03-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

New Yahoo Community for Scrapbookers

If you live in Surrey, BC (or the surrounding areas), I've started a new Yahoo group just for scrapbookers! It's called the Surrey Scrapbookers (yes, very original, I know) and it's a place where we plan scrapbooking get-togethers in the Surrey area.

If you're interested in joining us, come on by! We're at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surrey_scrapbookers/

That's really all that's new right now. I have a terrible cold and really just want to curl up in bed! I even missed a scrapbooking class at Clipper Street on Thursday (so you know I am really sick). My friend Andrea made it to the class and posted her layout on her scrapbooking blog. It's so adorable that I'm extra bummed-out that I missed the class! Oh, I wish this cold would just be gone!!!!

2007-03-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Check out these Chocolate Critters!

I was taking a stroll through the world wide web when I stumbled across some Chocolate Critters made by Kelly Sampson. These are really cute projects for kids made with googlie eyes and shapes from SU punches. I think I'm going to cut out a few for Devin to try! You can check out the Chocolate Critters here. I might just have to use her idea to create a bunny for Easter!

2007-03-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

6x6 Layouts of My Girls

Yesterday's "Family Elements" class at Clipper Street rocked! It turned out so good. I was so imspired that I promised myself that I would dig out my supplies today and get scrapbooking! When my Basic Grey paper pack arrived today, nothing was going to get in my way!

So, I decided to create a 6x6 layout of both of my daughters. When Jordan was first born I bought two shadow boxes from Michaels and have been meaning to create layouts for them. The Basic Grey paper inspired me. So here are the layouts!

This layout is of Jordan.

The quote says, "We didn't give you the gift of life. Life gave us the gift of you."

And this is Devin's layout.

The quote says, "Your first breath took mine away."

2007-03-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

Scrapbooking Club Project

Here is the layout we will create at our scrapbooking club night next week. The materials for this project are all from SU's Simply Scrappin' Kit Tickets and Tokens. For this layout I used photos of Devin playing with the ducks at a nearby park (Crescent Park) with her friend Cassie.

Here is a peak at all the great die cuts that come with the set (there's two of each sheet).

2007-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Finally, A Card!

Since I've just been posting about shopping so much, I thought I would actually post a card I made :) So, here it is...

This is a card I did for a SU Spring Mini swap. Here's my list of ingredients:

Stamp Set: That's Nice (SU Spring Mini)
Cardstock and Paper: Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Treehouse Designer Series
Other: Stampin' Write Marker and Spiral Punch (only in the SU Spring Mini!)

Now, I need to go make invitations for Devin's upcoming birthday party and plan my Scrappbooking Club project. But maybe I'll browse ebay for just a few minutes longer before I get started...

2007-03-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

I just love ebay!

Every so often I go through an ebay buying spree and right now I'm going through one of those phases. A while back it was tin items to alter, right now it's all about the scrapbooking paper kits that I'm finding!

I just "won", or as I like to say, bought, the Oh Baby! Girl Basic Grey Scrapbook Paper Kit. It looks great and I can't wait to play with it! It includes 18 unique coordinating 12 x 12 papers, a sheet of coordinating cardstock tags and a sheet of coordinating alphabet stickers. And all for about $16 (before shipping) - but the seller is in Canada too, so that saves on shipping! Here's a picture of the set:

And I also got another great kit from the same seller for about $13. It's the Three Bugs in a Rug Groovy Paper Collection kit. It comes with 9 coordinating papers, die-cut alphabet monograms, tags and stickers! I can't wait to play with it too :)

Plus I've been trading for lots of great new sets! I'm expecting Winged Things and the coordinating wheel, Summer by the Sea, It's a Date, and Fresh Flowers from SU, and an SEI Scrapbook in a Bag!!!

Yes, I know, now I need to actually start using all these goodies. And I promise that I will - as soon as they arrive!

2007-02-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Technique Tuesday

A very big coincidence happened yesterday - after finding out about Technique Tuesday and getting seriously excited about their stamps, I received an e-mail from a local scrapbooking store, Precious Memories. They are having a buy 2 stamps get 1 free sale, PLUS, they are offering a free gift with a $40 Technique Tuesday purchase! So I immediately shoved the kids into the car and drove out to check out these great stamps.

I have a very relaxing time browsing the stamps while Devin, my 3 year old, running around the store, and Jordan, my 9 month old, screamed incessantly. In the end I bought the Big Timber Line Lowercase Letters - Tall (the picture in the link doesn't do them justice, they are huge and awesome!), Read All About It, and Words We Love. I think they will be great to use when scrapbooking. Oh, and Loves Me, Loves Me Not - very Small - was my free gift.

I wanted to get stamping right away last night, but Jordan slept in my stamping room, so I'll have to wait until tonight - hopefully!

2007-02-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

Terrific Alphabet Stamps

Although I absolutely LOVE SU and ALL their beautiful stamps, I have been looking for more variety in my alphabet stamps. Tonight I stumbled onto Technique Tuesday and was impressed with their HUGE variety of alphabet stamp sets - I just might have to order a few for scrapbooking. Check out their on-line catalogue (pdf) here.

2007-02-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

Wanna Trade?

I've decided that it's time to clean out my old stamps to make room for some fun new stamps and am looking to trade some of what I have. This is a great way to get a new selection of stamps without breaking the bank :-)

Here's my list of stamp sets available for trade. If you're interested in trading, please let me know!

Perfect Layers Tool (Never Used)
Festive Four
It All Adds Up
Fun Filled
Burst into Bloom
Love Ya Bunches
Tags so Much (Hostess)
Say it Simply (Retired)

Here's my wish list:
Artfully Asian
Looks Like Spring
Happy Camper
Winged Things
Wild About You
Finest Flourishes
Seeing Spots
It’s a Date
Genuine Articles

Let's Trade!

2007-02-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

Scrapbooking Kits

I've been looking into a number of different scrapbooking kit memberships and must admit that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed! There are so many amazing kit places out there that I'm having a hard time deciding which one to subscribe you - because you just know that I will :-)

I found a great looking scrapbooking kit company today called Scrap 'Til Dawn, Their kits look absolutely beautiful! But, Scrap Shotz also has some awesome kits, as does Scrapbooking Fanatics and both of these sites are Canadian, where-as Scrap 'Til Dawn is in the States. I also stumbled across Zany Zinnia, which looks great too. There are just too many choices!

If you've used kits from any of these stores, of if you have a different store to recommend, please let me know! I would love to hear your feedback.

2007-02-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

Coaster Mini Album's

I have a TON of scrapbooking to do and a ton of scrapbooking projects that I want to get to, and now I've just seen something that I have to add to my ever growing list - coasters! If you haven't seen what some very creative people are doing with coasters, you just HAVE to take a look!

Check out these links for some creative coaster projects:

Jess' Blog Spot - Jess is such an amazingly creative person, I just love checking on her blog. A recent post about the Valentine’s Mini Book she created is great.

Splitcoaststampers.com - here's a number of super cute coaster projects!
And Another One...
And one more...

So many project ideas, so little time!

Have you done a coaster project lately :-)

2007-02-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

Clipper Street Class

I just signed up for a great looking class at Clipper Street in Langley and can't wait for it! It's called "Family Elements Home Decor" and in the class we're going to create a beautiful wodden "Family" word that will look great on a mantel. We're going to complete the word and class and then will have remaining product to create another project at home! It's only $35 and is on March 7. I hope you'll join me. Click here to register with Clipper Street!

There's also a class for a beautiful altered address book that I'm thinking about taking. It's on Feb. 19 (yes, soon) and costs $25. I just love the picture that Clipper Street posted for the class. But it might be too beautiful to use! I'll have to decide soon, though.

Let me know if you want to attend a class with me, it would be nice to see some friends there!

2007-02-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

Cards, Cards, Cards

I borrowed a few stamp sets from a fellow SU demo and had to put together a few cards with them.

For the first card, I did a spinner card using "Bugs and Kisses" stamp set by Stampin' Up! To make some grass, I just snipped the cardstock - then I thought I looked a little plain, so I added some flowers from "Looks Like Spring" and created stems with my markers. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

To see a tutorial for a spinner card, click here.

Here's another card using this adorable set. I just love all the wonderful patterned paper that SU has and love using it on my cards.

The other set I borrowed is "Close As a Memory" by Stampin' Up! It's a beautiful set, but I think I need a little more time to play with it to get the feel of the set.

2007-02-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Big Pieces is now on my list!

I just saw a post on Jennifer's Blog with a great picture of a scrapbook page she made using Big Pieces and now I just have to get the set! I've been eyeing it since it first came out, but was trying to control myself. But it just looks so great in this page, and I already have the Little Pieces set, that I just might have to get it :-)

Check out her post to see her great scrapbook page.

2007-01-31T20:52:00.000-08:00

Prima Flower Swap

Do you LOVE Prima flowers? If so, here is some great news - A lady I know is organizing an awesome Prima flower swap. Check out her blog for more information!

2007-01-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

Altered Book Tutorial

I just discovered a great tutorial for an Altered Book made with Stampin' Up! products. The video tutorial is demoed by Sara Douglass, daughter of Shelli Gardner, CEO & Co-Founder of Stampin' Up! The video will be on the right hand side of the screen, click PLAY and enjoy.

Once you have watched the video, you can download the project sheet from Cutter Production's Paint Paper & Crafts Home Page. It's on the left hand side under "Free Downloads" - select the 201 - S Book.

I hope you enjoy it!

2007-01-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

Coming Home

Here's a page I did a few weeks ago of the day we brough my youngest daughter Jordan home from the hospital. Doesn't she look so small in the car seat?

And look how big she is now at 7 months old!

2007-01-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

A Poem for Husbands

I just found this cute little poem online and I really got a kick out of it. I think my husband can relate :-) Enjoy!

She learned to stamp on Monday
Her embossing was quite fine.
She forgot to set out dinner,
So we went out to dine.

She brayered backgrounds Tuesday
She says they are a must.
They really were quite lovely
But she forgot to dust.

On Wednesday it was birthday cards
She says that chalking's fun.
Shading, blending, and watercoloring...
But the laundry wasn't done.

Her card swap was on Thursday
Using green and blue and red;
I guess she really was engrossed,
She never made the bed!

It was shaker cards on Friday
Using techniques she just adores,
But she never seemed to notice
The crumbs on all the floors.

I found a maid on Saturday!
My week is now complete
My wife can stamp the hours away;
The house will still be neat.

Well, it's already Sunday,
And my forehead's feeling damp.
I cursed, I raved, and I ranted--
The MAID has learned to stamp!!!

2006-12-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that you will have an awesome New Year!

Christmas was crazy busy around here - with our little girls getting seriously spoiled by both sets of grandparents, not to mention aunts, uncles, great-grandparents and cousins! I actually spent ALL DAY yesterday cleaning up their playroom trying to make room for all the new toys. In the end, I set aside a huge box of toys that need to be put away until Jordan is a little older. We're going to start rotating toys so that it seems like they always have something "new" to play with.

I didn't get much stamping done these last few days, but have decided on yet another project that I'd like to do. I would like to take this picture:

...and turn it into a wall hanging like this one I did of the girls this past summer:

I'm also trying to figure out how I'm going to get caught up on all my scrapbooking - the last event I scrapbooked was last Christmas - I have a whole year to get through now!

I'm thinking that I might get a few 6x6 books for a couple projects. I might do a 6x6 book for Jordan, just like the one I've done for Devin - each page features a picture from each month between newborn and 1 year old, then the rest of the book features photos by year. Since I did one for Devin, I really have to make one for baby Jordan.

I'm also thinking of doing a 6x6 book of this Christmas - just to get everything down on paper. I'll scrapbook just my absolute favourite photos and do lots of journaling. It is a lot quicker than doing a bunch of 12 x 12 pages and would probably take away my stress.

Other big layouts to get working on include: Jordan's birth, Devin's second birthday, the Aquarium, summer fun and winter wonderland. Oh, so much to do and so little time! I think I'll start with Christmas while it's fresh and then get going with Jordan's birth :-)

Do you have a long list of projects? It seems like every time I turn around I have something else to add to the list! I guess that happens with kids.

Speaking of scrapbooking - I got the best book for Christmas that's all about scrapbooking! It's full of great information about composition, colours, etc. and I can't wait to start putting all that I'm learning into practice. But not right now - first I'm going to read a little more and then I'm going to watch a DVD that I got for Christmas (The Devil Wears Prada). Off course, nursing Jordan and then putting both the girls to bed comes first, so we'll see how much time I actually have once they are asleep!

2006-12-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

Feeling Scrappy

Last night I was looking at some baby photos of Jordan and really wanted to do some scrapbooking. So, at 10 p.m. I pulled out my supplies and did two layouts - it took me until midnight, but I am happy with the results. Below are both 12 x 12 layouts.

2006-12-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas Card

I just received a beautiful Christmas card from my upline today and decided to CASE it.

Since we're celebrating Christmas today with my husband's family, I decided to do up a bunch (6 or 7) for his family. I really liked the way they turned out and it was so easy to stamp - which is perfect for me in my current sleep-deprived state (teething baby, very CRANKY child that won't sleep).

For this card I stamped the snowflakes in one of my new favourite colours, SU's True Thyme - it worked well with the Bravo Burgundy.

Merry (early) Christmas, everyone!

2006-12-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

Altered Lunch Box

I finally finished playing with my CD tins (for now anyway) and moved onto my first altered lunch box. This is a Provo Craft lunch box that I purchased off ebay for a penny! I decided that trying out my skills on something that only cost a penny would be a good place to start!

To put this together, I used Recollections designer series paper by SU. I just cut it to fit and used Modgpodge to place it on the tins.

I wanted to put a ribbon around the top but ran into a problem with the latch. I ended up using SU Sticky Strip to wrap it around the tin and then tucked it up top and used a flower that I stamped and cut out to hide the ending.

I think it turned out very well and have decided that I will give it to my aunt as a Christmas present! I've put a bunch of hand stamped cards and envelopes inside. She's a very creative person, so I think she'll appreciate the effort that went into it.

My next stamping challenge is to get some Christmas cards made and hopefully sent out before Christmas! I better get stamping!

2006-12-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Crafting with my Daughter

My daughter Devin, who is 2 1/2 years old, absolutely loves crafting with me. Fortunately, I really enjoy crafting with her. Although I could probably doing a 100 other more productive things with my time (like cleaning my house, doing laundry, etc.), I would way rather spend one-on-one bonding time with Devin that helps her explore her own sense of creativity (among other things).

Yesterday we went to the dollar store in our neighbourhood to buy a few craft supplies so that Devin could make Christmas gifts for her grandparents. We went specifically to get googly-eyes, but ending up getting a few extra items :-) Something caught Devin's eye and she announced that she wanted to make it as a gift for "Marky-Jen" (my brother, her uncle Mark and his wife, auntie Jen). I wouldn't post what it was, just in case they read this blog before Christmas! I was so impressed that she decided that she wanted to make them something special that I added the $1 items to my basket with a smile.

When we got home that day, she was so excited about her gift for "Marky-Jen" that we had to make them right away! She probably would have crafted the night away, but dinner and then bedtime came all too soon. This morning she was ready to get started on more Christmas presents and could barely wait to finish breakfast to get started. She didn't even ask to watch TV like she usually does each morning, and instead dug right into her presents for the grandparents. We spend about 1 1/2 hours creating ornaments as gifts for the grandparents. Devin picked out cookie cutter shapes that she liked and then I traced and cut out the stamp on SU's double sided designer series Christmas paper from the last holiday mini. Then Devin glued on googly eyes. Together we drew on the rest of the face and added gold cord. Then I wrote which grandparent it was created for, along with Devin's name and the date.

Although this may sound like a simple task. In the 1 1/2 hours that we crafted, we only completed 3 ornaments! Choosing the cookie cutter for each grandparent was probably the toughest part of the process. But boy was she proud of her work! She hung each ornament on our tree and can't wait to give them to her grandparents.

Working with Devin on the ornaments gave me an idea for making more grown up ornaments, so I searched the web for some great ideas and came up with some excellent resources. Although I didn't have time to get my own ornaments completed today, I thought I would share the links with you.

What I did work on tonight was a gift for my aunt and Christmas cards for the staff at my husband's office. I will post photos of my aunt's present tomorrow once the modgepodge is dry.

Here are some great ideas for Christmas ornaments. If you make them before I do, please let me know how it goes!

Glitzy Geodesic Ornaments

Pine cone Ball Ornaments

Paper Stars

To the right is a great sample of a geodesic ornament by Wendy Gibson - I found it in her gallery at scrapgalaxy. It's what inspired me to want to create some of my own!

2006-12-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

CD Tins!!!!

Yes, I was seriously excited about my new Provo Craft lunch tin that I got for a penny, but, the very same day that I picked it up I also received my CD tins in the mail! Well, it was hard to decide what item to play with first, but since I purchased 96 CD tins and only 1 lunch box, I decided to play with the tins first - lots more room for trial and error. And don't even ask what possessed me to purchase 96 tins - fortunately I actually have found a use for ALL of them and may even need to get more.

Anyway, back to the CD tins. These are so much fun to play with! Here's a picture of my altered tin using Recollections paper by Stampin' Up! and the Wild Rose stamp set by Stampin' Up!

I'm thinking of doing up grandparent tins for Christmas with photo CDs inside of their grandkids, but for now I did this - because it's just not right to decorate a tin and not put anything inside of it :-)

Have you altered a CD tin lately? If so, I'd love to see photos of your work and share ideas! I'm going to work on a few more, so look for more pictures soon!

2006-12-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

I Just Can't Wait!

I purchased this Provo Craft tin lunch box off of ebay the other day and just got a call that it's waiting for me at my mail box in Blaine. I am so excited and can't wait to pick it up and do all sorts of creative altering to it. I am so excited about making a card holder out of it with my Recollections designer series paper from SU that I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!!!!

In my eagerness to pick it up, I actually went down to my mailbox last night and was so disappointed to arrive 1 minute after closing time! I was desperate to get down today before closing time, but I to sit around waiting for the carpet cleaners to finish cleaning my carpet. And even though I didn't make it down to the mailbox today, I am sitting here enjoying my nice clean carpets. So the day wasn't a total waste :-) But first thing tomorrow I'm checking the border wait times and heading down to get my lunch box!

If you haven't seen an altered lunch box and don't know what all the fuss is about, you have to check out the gallery at splitcoast!

I Can't Wait!

2006-12-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

All I Want For Christmas

2006-12-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

Creative Christmas Cards

I saw this Santa card today and just had to post it! It was created by Barbara Bellefleur, an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Campbell River, BC.

I really liked how this card puts paper together in a creative way. Even if you don't have very many stamps, this is a great card that looks relatively simple to put together.

Speaking of Barbara, she just sent me a very cute tin with dominos inside it! Here's a photo:

Okay, now that I've show a couple of options from Barbara, I have to show a few of my own Christmas cards!

This is a card I made using the Faux Shaving Cream Technique. I really like blue and brown together right now and have been using this colour combination for a lot of my cards lately.

And this is a card my stamp club did the other night. We embossed the snowflake in silver on glossy white cardstock, added some grosgrain ribbon in white and navy, layered it, featured some of the holiday paper from Stampin' Up!'s late holiday mini and then used a stippling technique to add texture to the bottom.

2006-12-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

Creativity is a Value I'm Teaching my Children

I can't believe that it's December already! Another year is almost over and a new one is nearly here. I'm already thinking about New Year resolutions, examining my priorities and reconfirming my values. My husband jokes that if I approach anything with the same enthusiasm that I approach stamping with, I'll certainly succeed. I can't help but laugh when he says that, because I am certainly enthusiastic about stamping!

As I look back on this past year, it's very apparent how well stamping meshes with many of my values. For starters, I value creativity and have really enjoyed seeing my daughter Devin develop a love for it as well. At only 2 ½ years old, she can't wait to do crafts each day and loves showing off her works of art - we even posted some of her latest creations on her blog.

Not only do I love sharing her sense of accomplishment for a job well done, but I also relish the opportunity to teach her about showing her love and gratitude for others through her works of art. While Ken was away recently on business trip to Dallas, TX, Devin decided to create a special work of art to show him how much she missed him (yes, I did suggest it, but she was so excited about it and didn't want me to help once she got started).

When she finished crafting her pink heart-shaped bear, she gave him blue eyes, just like Daddy's. Then she flipped it over and pretended to write, "Dear Daddy, I love you… I miss you. The minute he came home, she ran and got her gift for him without any prompting and was glowing with pride. It's amazing how a little time and effort on a small craft can make both the giver and receiver feel so good.

2006-12-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here I am!

There are so many beautiful stamping blogs out there that have inspired me to start one of my own - I just hope that I can find something to add to all the beautiful blogs already out there!

Here's just a little bit about me:

I’m excited to share the creative art of rubber stamping with you! Stamping is one of the fastest growing crafts in the industry, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a simple way to create beautiful artwork. As fans of rubber-stamping already know, giving handmade cards, wrapping paper, gift boxes or scrapbook albums is simple when using rubber-stamps. They also know that their time and creativity mean the world to the recipient.

I became an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator in May 2005 because I love stamping and want to share the joy it brings to others. Stamping and crafting has become such a big part of my life and I can’t wait to share it with you!