Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Today is my nephew Benjamin's birthday. I can't believe he's 9 years old already! Time sure flies, doesn't it?

So, the other day i sent out a box of goodies. (I have made it my little tradition to give a little something to the siblings of the birthday kid, so the goodies include presents for Benjamin plus small somethings for Bethany and Josiah, too.) Here's the card i sent him in the box. Please excuse my use of two retired stamp sets! :)

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp sets: Stars and Swirls (retired), Birthday Whimsy (SAB 2008)
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Ink Pads: Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Tools: 1/16" punch, Small Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Ticket Corner punch, sponges
Adhesives: Tape runner, Dimensionals
Other: Silver Brads

One of a Kind

First let me start off by saying that this card is NOT my own design. It was tweaked a bit, yes, but mostly cased from another blogger or two. The problem is that there are so many wonderful stamping bloggers out there, most of whose blogs i subscribe to in Google Reader (love that Reader, btw), that i honestly have NO idea where i saw this card. So, whoever you are, i apologize for not giving you proper credit, but thank you for the cute card idea!

So this was one of the cards we made at my last club workshop, at Becky's house (the other card was the wheelbarrow Mother's Day card that i posted a few days ago). We were missing a lot of club members that night, but we had a great time anyway! If you are interested in joining my next club, go to my Stampin' Up! website (the link is on the left sidebar) for more information!

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp sets: Tart & Tangy, One of a Kind
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Old Olive
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink Pads: Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Old Olive
Markers: Close to Cocoa
Tools: Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" punch
Adhesives: Tape runner, dimensionals
Other: White gel pen, white 3/8" grosgrain ribbon

New Poll!

Scroll down the left side of my blog to participate in my new poll. This time it's about the 2007 In Colors, which I for one will be sad to see go in a few short months.

Happy Momma's Day!

Well, here i am, late to the party as usual. I guess it's only fitting that i'm posting this card two days after Mother's Day, since i haven't...umm...well, see, i haven't actually sent my mom her card yet. I know, terrible.

But fortunately i don't think she reads my blog, at least not regularly, so she will still (i hope) see this card in person rather than here. Which means that i did make her card! In fact, sorry to say, Mom, i made several of your card this year, so i could sell some at the coffee shop and also use it for a club workshop i had last week.

Boy, now i'm really hoping my mom doesn't read my blog! Since now i've said that her card isn't so unique! However, there is a new mommie-to-be i'd like to wish a special Happy (belated) Mother's Day to: my friend-in-the-computer, Char. Consider this your Mother's Day card, too, Char! :)

I tried my hand at a new-to-me technique (which everyone and their mother has already done just ages ago, but like i said, i'm late to the party) called paper piecing. Of course, me being the cutting-hater that i am, i only did it with an image that has nice clean lines and no inverted corners or jaggedy lines. (Unlike the card Claire made us do last week at Diva Night which i also need to post up here. I have actually been doing a lot of stamping lately, just not very much posting.)

I also did more coloring on this card than i usually do...i'm not generally a fan of the coloring, i must say. But i didn't mind it so much on this one. Flower petals are pretty quick to do; just a quick swipe with the brush tip of my Stampin' Up! marker and there ya go.

One more thing...i'm proud to say that although i usually CASE things quite shamelessly, this one is actually my own design. And i used a different color combo (for me), mostly because i really wanted to use Pumpkin Pie but i already had the Pretty in Pink cardstock cut. Boy, i was just breaking out of my molds all over the place with this one, eh??

ANYway, here's the card. Happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms!

Stamp Set: Blooming with Love (thank you, Kristin!)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink Pads: Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie
Markers: Creamy Caramel, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Tools: Blender Pen, Bone Folder, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/16" hole punch, Paper Snips
Adhesives: Tape runner, Stampin' Dimensionals
Other: 3/8" Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon

Bashful Bride

Here's a card i made tonight using some of our punches and PDSP (prints designer series paper). I'm pretty happy with how it came out, although to me the blues don't quite match as perfectly as i would like. But then i'm pretty picky about color matching...


Stamp Set: (retired) Mini Mates
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
DSP: Bashful Blue Prints Designer Series Paper (from the prints pack hostess gift)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Tools: Bone Folder, small oval punch, 1 1/4" circle punch
Adhesives: Tape runner, Stampin' Dimensionals
Other: 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" bashful blue grosgrain ribbon

Coming soon to a coffee shop near you!

Actually, it might not be near you...depends where you live!

I'm going to be selling a few cards at my local coffee shop (and maybe at work, too). So i spent a big chunk of yesterday making some to take over this week. Here's a little sampling...sorry about the glare off the plastic covers; i was too lazy to take them off before scanning!

Jumping out of a perfectly good plane...

This is totally un-stamping related, but i thought i'd share anyway. For his 40th birthday, my sister surprised her husband Pete with (among other things) a skydive! It was his first jump, so he went tandem. Here are a couple of shots i got from the ground. Cool, huh?