What happened to the weekend???

How is it Sunday night already??  I'm not sure how, but the weekend somehow escaped me.  I had my Valley Girls Club meeting today and it went a wee bit long...they like to chat!  Then I stopped by for a little auntie time with my new nephew on my way home and here it is, 9:30 pm!  How can time go so fast on the weekend yet so slowly during the week?  I am not ready for Monday yet!  Since I have a ton to do before I can sleep tonight, this post will be a quick one.  This card is one that I designed for my Christmas Club which is meeting this week on Thursday.  We are focusing on the Sounding Joy set from the mini, since everyone loves it!  See what you think...

Holiday card featuring the Sounding Joy set from the holiday mini.

I went with a cool colour scheme of marina mist, night of navy and whisper white on this card. I embossed a third of the background using the snowburst embossing folder, which is also in the mini and then die cut a snowflake using the snowflake #2 die.  It is peeking out from behind the stamped focal image.  I kept this one simple because we'll be making 12 cards on Thursday night and I don't want to be at it all night!  I hope my club members enjoy this one!  Right now I'm off to get ready for my Inky Paws class tomorrow after school.  That is my monthly group of colleagues who meet to stamp after school in the staff room.  It is a fun social time for us all!

A Stamping-filled day!

Today I attend "Stampin' Sparks", a demonstrator event hosted by my upline, Jamilla Ivits.  It was a jam-packed day that just flew by!  We did so many projects I honestly can't even remember them all at the moment!  Suffice to say it was well worth the registration fee.  We got a TON of product included in our kits and did terrific projects that highlight many items from the Holiday Mini.  My head is still spinning a little, but I did want to post the final card I designed for my club meeting tomorrow.  For this one I used the Dasher A La Carte stamp.  This little guy is very popular and perfect for holiday cards.  I know several of my club members own this one too, so I knew it would be a good one to use.  The layout for this card was inspired by one done by Mary Fish a while back.

CAS Holiday card using the Dasher stamp and greeting from the Snow Swirled set.

So I finally resorted to a more traditional Christmas colour scheme for this one.  I knew my ladies wouldn't be satisfied if I did everything in non-traditional colours!  I used cherry cobbler, brushed gold and whisper white for a clean, modern, yet classic look.  I used my Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder on the strip of cherry cobbler cardstock to add a bit of texture.  I stamped Dasher in versamark and then heat embossed him in gold.  The sentiment is stamped right on the card base in cherry cobbler ink.  I finally found a way to use all those gold brads I have in my stash!  They contrast just enough with the brushed gold cardstock to stand out without drawing the eye away from the focal image.  I also need to point out that yet again, I refrained from adding ribbon!!!  My club ladies will love me because they hate messing around with ribbon...all three cards we are doing are 100% ribbon free!  I can honestly say that this is the first time that has ever happened!  I can't wait to see their reaction...I'll report back tomorrow night.  Till then, enjoy your weekend!

Finally Friday!

TGIF!!!  What a long, busy week this has been!  I am so thankful that Friday is finally here so that I can catch my breath for a minute or two.  It is a rainy, gloomy day today and it just makes me want to curl up in my jammies and watch a video tonight...that is if I can stay awake long enough to make it to the end!
Tonight's card is the second one I designed for my club that is meeting on Sunday.  It also happens to work for this week's technique challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Like yesterday's, it also uses the Snow Swirled stamp set, but is a completely different look.

Elegant Holiday card for HSS85 using the Snow Swirled stamp set and featuring Mocha Morning DSP.

For this card I again used a rather non-traditional colour scheme.  I pulled my palette from the Mocha Morning DSP (LOVE IT!) and used soft suede, brushed gold and very vanilla cardstock.  The tree is stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed in gold.  Instead of ribbon I used some brushed gold cardstock cut using my Tasteful Trim die and my Big Shot (how did I ever get by without that die?!?)  The sentiment, from Teeny Tiny Wishes, is stamped in soft suede, punched out with the word window and then layered on a decorative label in brushed gold.  The pearls add just the right touch of elegance.  So, have you noticed this is two cards in a row with NO RIBBON!!!  I don't think that's ever happened in the history of this little blog!  Could this be a trend?  Stay tuned and find out!
Tomorrow I am off to Stampin' Sparks for the day.  This is a demostrator event my upline is hosting.  I am looking forward to some stamping fun with members of my team and some fellow demonstrators from the area.  I'm sure I'll have lots to share when I get home!  Happy Weekend, everyone!

FINALLY Stamping Again!

Well, tonight I finally got down to my stamping corner and inked up some rubber.  It sure felt good to be creative again!  My life has just been WAY too hectic lately...it can't be healthy to not have time to stamp, can it?  In any case, tonight I sat down to design the projects for one of my monthly clubs which is meeting this Sunday afternoon.  They requested that I do Christmas cards using stamp sets and punches that they already own.  Since they are relatively new stampers, that really limited my options, so this was a challenge!  Knowing that the Snow Swirled set is in the stash of several of the ladies, I decided to focus my energy on that set.  I designed two cards using it, but am only showing you one tonight...I have to save the other for tomorrow...who knows when I'll get to stamp again!  So, here, without further excuses, is today's card:

CAS Holiday card using the Snow Swirled set.

Inside of card with sentiment from the Christmas Greetings set.

Could this get any simpler??  I tried to keep my embellishments to a minimum on this one, but couldn't resist adding those glimmer brads...they just add such a nice touch of sparkle!  The colour combo is one of my new favourites and is inspired by the holiday decorations (yes, its true) that are popping up in stores about now.  These bold, bright colours are just fabulous together and really pop against the white background.  In case you're wondering, the colours are: rich razzleberry, marina mist and lucky limeade.  On the inside of the card I punched the sentiment out with the 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch (one I know my club members own) and then notched every other scallop with my paper snips.  I then punched a 1/16" hole in the un-notched scallops in an attempt to make the circle look a bit snowflake-ish.  I think it works, especially with the snowflake images stamped behind it. 
I hope my ladies like this card...they're pretty traditional green and red Christmas gals, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to show them something a little bit off the wall.  Tomorrow I'll have my second Snow Swirled card for you...and best of all...its FRIDAY!

Oh my goodness...

...it has been a long time since I posted!!  I am SOOOO completely swamped...I have a To-Do list that is literally a full page long!  The problem is, there is this new little person who is just irresistible!  Here is what I was doing Sunday morning instead of prepping for my classes this week:

Me with my gorgeous little nephew Benjamin.  (Could I be any paler??  That's what happens when you spend your summer stamping instead of sun bathing!)

...and here is a close-up of the little man himself:

Is this not the second cutest child ever?  (My son, Max is, of course the cutest child who ever walked the earth...but Ben is a close second!)

As you can probably tell from the photos, Ben and his mommy are at home and are settling in quite nicely.  It sure has been a hectic first week of his life, though!  I promise to try really hard to post more consistently this week, but can't make any promises.  Life is just crazy and I'm so busy prepping for classes and keeping my family going that I haven't had time to stamp anything new.  Hang in there with me, though, this won't last forever!

Something old for someone new...

Today's project is the invitation I designed for my new nephew's baby shower.  We are throwing a party to celebrate his arrival and so that the whole family can meet him.  I used stamps from two retired sets:  Big on Spring and Blissful Bride.  See what you think:

Baby shower invitation using Big on Spring and Blissful Bride sets (both retired)

So, along with the retired images, I used a bunch of new product as well.  The colour scheme uses three of the new In-colours:  island indigo, calypso coral and pool party (kinda makes you want to book a trip down south, doesn't it?).  I used this same colour scheme for the Save the Date cards I did in July...you can see those HERE.  I chose it because it was fairly gender-neutral.  I figured if it was a girl I could play up the coral, but since Benjamin is all boy, I emphasized the island indigo.  I had to keep this fairly CAS so that I could get them done in a hurry and get them in the mail.  Young Benjamin decided to keep us all waiting for an extra week, so the shower is only a month away!  I finished them all tonight and now need to get them in the mail!
My crazy week continues tomorrow with the arrival of my parents.  They are coming to see the baby, but are staying with us, which means more chaos in my household...and less time to tackle my to-do list!  Argh!

Crazy!

What a week this has been..and its only Wednesday!  First of all, let me announce that my new nephew arrived safe and sound on Monday night.  His name is Benjamin Rudy Bruckner and we weighed in at a whopping NINE pounds!!  He is one little bruiser...my poor SIL is completely done in!  For you moms out there, think about this:  his head circumference was 31 cm (that 12 inches for our US friends)!!!  I've never seen such a perfectly round melon on a baby!  Both mommy and baby are doing well and are heading home from the hospital tomorrow...which will make my life even busier! 
Tonight I have a quick Thanksgiving card for you...have a look:

Thank you card using Day of Gratitude set.

Inside of card

This card is another one that used a bunch of odds and ends from my desk.  I tend not to clean up very often, so there is usually a lot laying around.  The weave is just a bunch of scrap strips I had and thought I'd try making use of.  I don't have time to give you a how-to, so if you need instructions, send me an email and I'll help you out.  Right now I'm being summoned by my four-year-old to come and sleep with him...AGAIN!!  I'll try to post tomorrow, but don't know if I'll be home...things may be a little hit and miss for a while.  I hope you'll hang in there with me!