All-Purpose Blog Post

Well, as usual, things have been pretty busy around here. Just thought I'd drop in for a quick post of what we've all been up to. Regardless of why you read my blog, this post is sure to have something for you, so read on. First, for those of you who are stopping by to see some crafty goodness, we've had a few birthday parties to go to, so here's a quick card I put together for one of the neighbor boys using a retired Simply Scrappin' Kit.

Second, here's a little addition I made to my car. I've been embellishing things right and left lately. I just put some Decor Elements flowers on my laptop. More on that later.

Third, even with all of the heat I managed to whip up a birthday cake for a dear friend of mine whose husband dropped the ball. Although the frosting wasn't exactly what I would do again on this cake, I think the whole thing hit the mark.

On the wildlife front, we've been working on a little project around here. We have a rogue squirrel in our yard who is eating the siding off our house and all of the bark off our trees. We lovingly refer to him as "Squirrel Nutjob" which makes me laugh every time I hear Jordan say it. So matter of fact. Although I don't think this is the actual culprit, I've been working on a bit of a wildlife relocation and abatement project.

You can click on the picture for a closer look at the fact he's trying to chew through the spring. Although the trap has proven to work best as nothing more than a squirrel feeder, my husband is nothing if not persistent and we're still trying to reduce the squirrel population in our yard and increase the squirrel population in a nearby park.

The big boys have both been on the local swim team this summer, so we've been doing lots of this. Mine is in the powder blue leopard cap, which might not have been my first choice of swim caps but sure does make him easy to pick out of a crowd.

Here he is doing his award-winning butterfly. He took first in the whole city in Butterfly. He's 7. In the city-wide meet last weekend he took 1st overall in Butterfly, 2nd overall in Freestyle, and 3rd overall in Backstroke. I think he wants to be Michael Phelps when he grows up.

Here's Dawson. He swam in one meet and it wasn't really his thing. He's not the fastest swimmer, but I think he's the prettiest swimmer. Although I don't think they'd admit it, I do think they had fun. I also think they're glad swim team is over for the year.

Next on the agenda is some of this:

And this:

And hopefully even some of this:

We've had a backpacking trip planned for months. This is the first for me in 10 years (since having kids) and the first ever for Jordan. Our deal was that you had to be potty trained. It's worked well as an incentive. We've been planning and buying gear for weeks and today is the day. Of course, this morning Mason woke up throwing up. Mike took the other two boys and left me home with Mason, but he seems to be feeling much better. We were going up with some friends who are leaving at noon today, so I'm thinking Mason and I may tag along with them if they're not afraid of our germs. Say a prayer for us. We're both disappointed to be missing the fun. Hopefully we can make it up there today and I'll have more pictures like the ones above (which my husband took on his backpacking trip a few weeks ago) to show you soon.

I'm off to the Stampin' Up! Convention on Tuesday. I can hardly wait. And you may not believe this, but this year I made NO SWAPS!! I'm actually glad and feeling a sense of relief. Last year I didn't even swap the first two days. I think it's going to be liberating to not do it. Anyone else want to join me? Maybe I need a NO SWAPS button for my apron - you know with the circle with the line through it. Anyone? . . . *crickets* . . . Well, swaps or no swaps, I'm excited for convention.

P.S. Mason just asked for a snack. I'm thinking he may be okay.

Bermuda Bay Tour

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog during the blog tour. Although the tour links are gone, I'll leave my samples up for your enjoyment! I chose this stamp set it's one I like but haven't used enough. If you're like me, pull out Fun & Fast Notes and put some ink on it. You'll be glad you did.

For this first card I stamped the vase image onto watercolor paper and water colored the image. I wanted the flowers to be more vivid, so I colored those in with my Real Red marker. I layered the image onto Real Red and Bashful Blue card stock and punched the top two layers with the ticket corner punch and added some Rich Regals brads to finish it off. The sentiment is from Fundamental Phrases. The base layer is wheeled with the Fast Flowers wheel and includes a touch of Bashful Blue card stock, So Saffron DSP and Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon.

For this next card I stamped the baby buggy image three times with coordinating inks onto Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, and Bashful Blue card stock. Then I cut out those images. I layered them onto a panel that was stamped with the retired Print Pattern background. I stamped it in Versamark and applied coordinating pastels with a sponge dauber. The sentiment is layered onto punched out ovals. For the ribbon, I tied a piece of So Saffron grosgrain across the card and then tied a short piece of ribbon coordinated to each baby buggy onto the main strip. This is a fun gender-neutral baby card.

This next project is a fun little treat box. You could fill this with goodies or a gift card or anything else you can dream up. I rolled the Tempting Turquoise box with the Fast Flowers wheel and again stamped the main image on watercolor paper and watercolored it. The main image is layered onto Regal Rose card stock and both layers are punched with the ticket corner punch. When I mounted this set, I separated the sentiments from the images. Doing this allows me to easily stamp them separately, like I did on this tag.

Just to show you the versatility of this set, I also put together a scrapbook page.

This last project is a little more involved, but still makes use of this darling stamp set. For this page I wheeled the top of the page with the Fast Flowers wheel and then stamped the chick image across the bottom of the page. I paper pieced the chicks and flowers with So Saffron DSP and coordinating colors of card stock. Each flower is finished off with a cheery brad. For this page I also used the retired Big Deal Alphabet and added another flower accent to dot the "I". A cute picture of my two oldest boys with the Easter Bunny finishes this cute page off nicely.

I'm so thankful for each and every person who stops by my blog during this tour. Be sure to leave a comment so I know you were here! And add your subscription so you can come back again soon.

Cuttlebug Spot Giveaway

Did you know that The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest? It's called "The Journey to 1,000" and they are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and they need your help! To enter, all you have to do is go their site, sign up as a follower and complete a few easy steps. Some lucky follower will win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (www.customcrops.com)! Go now and check it out at www.thecuttlebugspot.com.

Father's Day Card

Although my dad doesn't fish much anymore (more golfing, less fishing) it is something he enjoys and my Father-in-law is an avid fisherman. As a result, for my Father's Day cards this year, I pulled out this retired stamp set. I think it's called Angler.

I stamped the image in Stazon ink onto Watercolor paper. If you enjoy water-coloring, you should really get some of this paper. It makes all the difference in the world! I used my ink pads and an aqua painter to color the image. I mounted it on Not Quite Navy card stock and the base of the card is also NQN and Kraft and Naturals Ivory card stock. I used Sahara Sand to stamp the fly image on the card base and finished it off with a small sentiment from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes set and my new fancy Modern Label punch!

I think I still have my club projects from last month to share with you and we meet again this week, so I'll be back soon to share more. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for your feedback

Thanks to everyone who commented on my new blog format. I'm glad some of you took the time to click over from Google Reader or from your email to check it out. If you left me a comment on that post, email me (by clicking on the "email me" link on the right) with your snail mail address and I'll send you a card! I have one friend, (hey, Becky!) who said she's having trouble getting the new format to load on her pc. If you're having trouble, email me about that too. Thanks again for all of your feedback. I'm hoping to post some crafty goodness this afternoon. See you all then!

Stampin' Addicts Big Shot Die Giveaway!

One of my favorite Stamping Websites is giving away 5 (yes, FIVE) new Big Shot dies. Stampin' Addicts is a great source of amazing stamping ideas. It's also a wonderful community of stampers who love Stampin' Up! To be entered in the giveaway, all you have to do is blog about it. You can find more details HERE. Now, go check out Stampin' Addicts. You can tell them I sent you!!!

Lots of Stamping News!

It's time for a brand new Idea Book & Catalog! The new book went into effect on July 1st. There are hundreds of amazing ideas and lots of new products. Call me today to get your copy for just $5 or schedule a fun evening of stamping with your friends and get one for FREE!!!

Here are the links to the new catalogs:

2009-2010 Catalog:

Click the catalog to download in .pdf format!

Click here to download the 2009-2010 Catalog Supplies

Click the catalog to view in .pdf format.

Click here to download the Catalog Supplies

Definitely Decorative Catalog:

Click the catalog to view in .pdf format.

For a limited time you can even become a demonstrator for only $85! That's a steal of a deal, not to mention the fact that you'll receive 20% off everything you buy as a demonstrator. Here's a link for more information:

In addition to all of the amazing things above, Stampin' Up! has also announced that they're going to have a new product discount every week. It's the Summer Fun Deal of the Week! This week the Scalloped Border Punch is 30% off! You can pick yours up for just $10.99. Such a deal.

You can get your Scalloped Edge Punch at this amazing price by shopping on my Demonstrator Website. Just click the Shop Now Button!! If you have any questions about any of these promotions or about the new catalogs, be sure to call or email me. I'd love to help you out!