I'm Ba-ack...

Well, here it is nearly the end of 2011 and I FINALLY am back in the photo-taking business.  Thanks to a good repair job my camera is fully functional and ready for action.  Since I've been away Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind of family visits and big dinners.  The dust has finally settled and I finally have time to catch my breath.  As is always the case, when I finally give myself permission to relax a little, I get sick!  In fact, my whole family is sick with a nasty cough and cold.  My son has another ear infection to go along with the horrible cough, which is making the nights not overly restful in our house!  The poor kid can't get a decent sleep because he is coughing his brains out!  We're hoping he'll be able to nap a little during the day to make up for the lost sleep at night.  This bug can move along any time now!
This morning I had a rather pleasant surprise in my inbox.  It was an email from Pals Paper Arts that two of my designs had been chosen for their "Best Dressed for 2011" list!!  I was chosen for July  and September and I have to say I am absolutely thrilled and humbled.  What a great way to start my day after a rather crummy night!
Now, on to a project...and isn't it about time??  This card is the first one I created when I received my Occasions Mini pre-order goodies.  It is CAS and uses a bunch of new products...check it out:

CAS card using the new Apothecary Art stamp set from the upcoming Occasions Mini

I have to say I did a little happy dance when I saw the new Framelits dies in the Occasions Mini.  Those of you who have received your copy will know what I am talking about, but for those of you who haven't, these dies are along the lines of Nestabilities dies, with several different sizes of the same-shaped die.  They are perfect for layering and are easy to position to cut out images from the coordinating stamp sets.  The Framelits set that I used on this card is the Labels Collection and it coordinates perfectly with the images in the Apothecary Art stamp set.  This card, in fact, used my Big Shot to the max.  I die cut the label after stamping the image on very vanilla in Staz-on ink.  I also die cut a larger-sized label in baja breeze and ran it through again using the perfect polka dots embossing folder.  The background is another piece of very vanilla that I also embossed using the vintage wallpaper folder.  I watercoloured the flowers using my aquapainter and baja breeze ink pads.  The finishing touch on this card is the gorgeous pleated satin ribbon, another new product from the upcoming mini.  I LOVE this stuff...you're going to be seeing more of it in the coming weeks!

Boxing Day came early!

Stampin' Up is making a lot of holiday dreams come true with some fantastic deals on the online Clearance Rack.  Punches, dies, embellishments all at up to 80% off!!  These deals are while supplies last only, so act fast to get your hands on these fantastic bargains!  Click here to access my online store.

No Camera = No Photos

So you've probably been wondering where the heck I've been for the past week.  I am here, really busy, but still stamping.  My pre-order for the new Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration came and I had a chance to play for an hour or two.  The problem is my camera isn't working!  We are in the process of determining whether it is more economical to get it fixed or just buy a new one.  The challenge is, with Christmas fast-approaching, Santa may be working on a new camera for me so....no photos for now!  I've tried to let Santa know how urgent it is that I have a functioning camera, so maybe he'll make an early delivery.  In the meantime, happy stamping!  I'll have LOTS to share when I do finally regain the ability to take pictures!

NOT a Christmas Card!

I am so over Christmas cards.  I've been doing them since August and, quite frankly I am sick of them.  I held my last Christmas card class of the year today and all I can say is bring on Valentine's Day!  The card I have for you today is not a Christmas card.  It is a thank you card I designed for a class I am teaching at an upcoming weekend retreat in January.  The class is on watercolouring and so I chose one of my favourite hostess sets to colour:  Faith in Nature.  See what you think:

Thank you card using the Faith in Nature hostess set

Focal image detail

I just love this pear image.  I don't know why but it just really appeals to me.  I stamped it in versamark on watercolour paper and then heat embossed it in gold.  I watercolored it using my aquapainter and ink pads.  The rest of the card is pretty straightforward and uses more mustard, soft suede and crumb cake cardstock.  I am so looking forward to playing with my preorder items from the upcoming Occasions Mini...there's nothing like new goodies to jump-start the ol' Mojo!