Look what the mailman brought me today....

I got my brand spanking new stamps from Little Paper Shop and had to get some ink on them right away. I made this card for today's color challenge on SCS to use Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and Real Red.

Recipe:
Stamps: Little Paper Shop - Grandparents and Take Time, SU sentiment
Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black, markers, blender pen
Accessories: Hodge podge hw, 5/8 real red gg ribbon, punches

I love the hibiscus flower - this one is on my porch. Don't forget to leave me a comment for some blog candy. Link the blog candy post on your blog and get an extra chance to win!

Thanks for visiting. ~chris

BLOG CANDY ALERT!

As promised, to celebrate my visitor counter reaching 5000 hits, I want to give away some blog candy to say thanks to everyone for spending some time with me here on my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you! Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner on Monday, June 9. If you have a blog and link up to my blog, come back and leave me a comment with a link to your blog and you will get two chances to win!

Thanks again for visiting and for all your encouraging words. I appreciate you all!

~chris

Roselyn is Super!

I have some of the best uplines! Roselyn took time from her VERY busy schedule to spend some time with me today to help me work through some problems I am having with a scrapbook project. This is a very special project and she was so sweet and patient with me. I made her this card to let her know how much I appreciate her. Some colors just don't want to work with my camera/lighting set up (which is very primitive - at best). This card is a certainly celery base with tempting turquoise and very vanilla and the picture doesn't really do it justice. It's not a super fancy card or anything, pretty straightforward and simple - inspired by Angie Kennedy Juda over on her blog Chic n' Scratch. What a great blog she has. You should definitely check it out.



Recipe:
Stamps: Sprinkles, Boho Backgrounds, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla
Ink: Versamark, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery
Accessories: punches, bling from Stampingbella, ribbon, decorative scissors, gold ep

First thing in the morning tomorrow, I will be posting some 5k BLOG CANDY to celebrate the approach of 5000 hits on this blog so be sure to stop back tomorrow. Thanks so much for visiting.

~chris

While I was sleeping ....

My counter crept even closer to 5000 hits! I will have some blog candy to post tomorrow, but here's the pix I mentioned before of our new kayak rack and the hibiscus.


Be sure to stop by tomorrow and check out the blog candy! Thanks!

~chris

Weekend Workshop Projects

I have a workshop this weekend - ringing in June in Style! Here are some of the projects we will be making.

If you want to see more detail on any of these, please visit my Splitcoast gallery and take a look.

We managed to get in a little sailing time today and I am a bit toasty! I'm sitting at my desk and I still can feel the boat rocking - I think it might be time to go to bed! It was the first day of our sail club's annual regatta and there were so many beautiful boats on the lake - colorful spinnakers - just gorgeous. We tried out the new roof racks for the kayaks too - they're going to work just fine. I got some pix of them as well as the gorgeous hibiscus blooming on the porch, but I haven't had time to get them off the camera yet - maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting - hope you have a wonderful weekend!

~chris

Father's Day Stamp Camp Possibles

My Monday Night Stamp Camp will be making Father's Day cards on June 9. Here are a couple that I made for them to choose from:

I tried to make them pretty straightforward from a make and take standpoint and yet still be elegant and "masculine" and I think they will work well for us. I will probably add a few more to this selection before May 9 and they can also choose to customize somewhat by using some of the other stamps like - brother, nephew, son, etc. if they want.

Coaster Frames

I saw these coaster frames on several blogs and really wanted to give them a try. I used my Nestabilities to cut out the solid color frames from cardstock and also from heavy card stock (the backing sheets that come in the dp packages from SU - I can't throw anything away). The next set I make though I think I am going to cut the scalloped cardstock squares on my Cricut and cut the backing frames as just plain squares using the nesties. The Cricut doesn't seem to want to cut the heavier cardstock and I really feel that the frame pieces need that reinforcing. Anyone who has tried these and come up with better solutions, please let me know.






I use dp for the front and back and to cover the stand. Glued using both white and clear glue, but I'm staying away from using snail on these as I really wouldn't want them to come apart. I attach the backing frame and the cardstock frame using snail though and then attached the frame to the coaster using all my leftover strips from the edges of the sheets of dimensionals (I told you I never throw anything away!) The gals in my Stamp Camp really liked making these for Mother's Day and we are going to make more for Father's Day.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

Dinamite Stampers Swap for May

I belong to a terrific group of stampers called the Dinamite Stampers led by Ms. Dinamite herself - Diane Crist. This is my swap for this month's downline meeting.


Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Fresh Cuts
Paper: River Rock, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, More Mustard
Ink: River Rock, Always Artichoke, More Mustard
Accessories: Always Artichoke ribbon, punches

This card was inspired by these cards by Marelle Taylor on her blog thINKspot

Blogger issues?

Blogger is being bad to me tonight. I have alot to show you, but blogger doesn't seem to want to let me put photos in my posts so I'll be back to give it another try tomorrow. I have my downline swap for my Dinamite Stampers downline meeting, some cool coaster frames and some previews of my Father's Day Stamp Camp cards, so please be paitent and come back by tomorrow and take a look.

We went up to the lake to do some sailing on Sunday and it was beautiful. Got a little (too much) sun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We decided to spend the night on the boat and a storm blew in during the night soaking us down really well and leaving us with a cold, cloudy day today. Oh well - we got one really good day of sailing in and got a chance to visit with all the other sail club members who were up enjoying the lake on Sunday.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

Some of the May activities

May has been a pretty busy month around here. Here's a slide show of some of the projects that we have done in the latter part of the month:

We also made some really cute coaster frames, but I am still fighting with my new camera. I am really unhappy with the pictures I have been getting and need to just give it up and read the manual!

I hope to have some more detailed pix and explanation of the projects along with some pictures of the projects in the works for next month - our big Monday Night Stamp Camp for Father's Day!

Thanks for visiting!

Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated

I am still alive and kicking, just buried. Managed to get over the cold from hades and all the stuff at the job that pays the bills. Had my Monday Night Stamp Camp this week with 11 - count em - 11 ladies making lots of wonderful cards. I'll have some pix of what we did soon. Tonight had an SU workshop - my hostess is so pleased and so am I - big sales and two bookings! We had lots of fun and there are a couple more gals who want to get in on the Monday Night festivities. I may have to break the group down into two groups. What fun! This is definitely the "so busy my feet are falling off" way things are supposed to be, but I'm beat. I know that I have been a very bad blogger, but I will get better and get some of the fun things we've been doing posted here before the week is out.

In the news:

Megan, the latest member of my super-duper downline, now has her own blog: http://maerainlily.blogspot.com/ - please go and visit and leave her some encouraging words!

Autumn - one of my five most favorite ddl's has revamped her blog and is tracking my newest grandchild: http://hotstampinmama.blogspot.com/ - so please pay her a visit too.

Even though I don't have pix of the whole family on Mother's Day, I did get some cute pix of the grandkids and you can see them on this post.

Thanks for visiting and there will be pix of the fun stuff before the week is out!

~chris

May Downline Meeting Swaps

Here are the swaps from our May downline meeting. Aren't these gals soooooo talented!

Thanks so much for visiting. I will hopefully have some previews of the projects for our May Stamp Camp meeting tomorrow.

~chris

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did. It was full of:

and I totally enjoyed myself. I love spending time with my family!

I am participating in an international swap and this is my entry:



Recipe:
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Paper: Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Naturals Ivory, Bo Bunny Anna Sophia Multi Floral dp
Ink: Ruby Red, So Saffron and Mellow Moss sponged on sentiment
Accessories: Nestabilities, Mike's floral "dew drops"

Sure hope they like it! Thanks for visiting. ~chris

Mother's Day Riot

This is my swap card for one of my downline meetings this month. I'm not going to make it to the meeting, but I always enjoy swapping with these marvelous gals.

Recipe:
Stamps: Riot of Petals, All Holidays
Paper: Lavendar Lace, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Lavendar Lace, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal
Accessories: ticket corner punch, sponge

I sure hope they like it! I did it in different colors to show how different the same exact card can look depending on it's color.

Thanks for visiting. Look for the slideshow of the swaps from this meeting on Friday.

~chris

Scrap Your Crap Challenge Results

Back in March, Greta and Simone from Scrap Your Crap issued a challenge to use some of their "crap" and create with it. Well, the results are now up and ready for prime time viewing so be sure to visit and check out all the creative ways we all found to use their paper lace. Yours truly has this entry there:

Recipe:
Stamps: One of a Kind
Paper: Gable Green, Green Galore, YoYo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral
Ink: Green Galore
Accessories: Punches, paper lace, Cuttlebug, brads, Cutter Kit

Thanks to Greta and Simone for the fun challenge!

~chris

Fun new blog coming soon!

Denise and Erin are starting up a new blog - Stamp Something Challenge Blog - which will premier on Friday, May 9, but can be previewed this week with chances to win some blog candy! Be sure to head on over and check it out.

Birthday season is upon us!

May starts a really busy birthday season in our family. I'm going to be busy making lots of cards! Here's the first, for one of our grown sons. I think it is pretty masculine. I got my rubber embossing mat and so now I can really play with my Nestabilities!

Recipe:
Stamps: Favorite Greetings
Paper: Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Basic Grey Dasher (I think)
Ink: Always Artichoke, blender pen, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Nestabilities rectangle dies, punches, brads

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll be back later with more goodies to show. We are going to take the sailboat out for it's maiden voyage of the season today. Hope to have some pictures to show of that too.

~chris

Blog Candy Winner!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

14

Timestamp: 2008-04-30 14:12:28 UTC

Congratulations Sabrina!

Sabrina said...

Way to go Chris. It's always fun to see what you have been up to.

Sabrina

April 26, 2008 10:41 PM

I will bring your goodies to pottery class tomorrow night! Way to go girl!

Thanks so much to everyone for visiting and leaving me comments. It's been a wonderful experience so far doing this blogging thing! Be sure to check out my post from earlier this morning to see a slideshow of the wonderful swaps from last night's downline meeting. We are all so happy to have our fearless leader, Diane Crist, back in town again! It was great to see her last night.

Again, thanks for visiting! I appreciate each and every one of you!

~chris

April 29 Downline Meeting Slideshow

Here's the slideshow of swaps from last night's downline meeting hosted by the ever gracious Amber:

A great time was had by all and the talented Danielle demonstrated a wonderful technique for making tiles that will be perfect for Mother's Day gifts. Thanks so much!


~chris

Sometimes they have a will of their own ...

This card started out as card for Jen's Sketch for you to Try Saturday but it had it's own ideas and this is how it ended up. I like it, even though it isn't what I started out to make. I used more of that wonderful paper I got from April that has no markings, so if anyone recognizes it, please let me know what it is so I can find some more!

Recipe:
Stamps: Warm Words
Paper: So Saffron, Ruby Red, unknown dp
Ink: Ruby Red
Accessories: Cuttlebug, punches, Apricot Appeal gg ribbon, punches, hodgepodge hardware ribbon slide

Thanks for visiting! Be sure to leave a comment for some celebration blog candy on this post.

~chris

CC163 and Mojo #34

I made this graduation card for my friend, Megan, who is graduating next month. I didn't want to post it until she already had it in hand as she reads my blog! I think she liked it. It combines SCS color challenge 163 (Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery) and Julee's Mojo Monday #34.

Stamps: Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps by Tia Bennett, One of a Kind
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, markers
Accessories: Cuttlebug, resin bling, punches; button brads

Thanks for visiting and be sure to enter your comment on my blog candy post for a chance to help me celebrate!

~chris

This was fun! Thanks Nancy!

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Page Plans card challenge

You may have noticed the "blinkie" on the right side of my blog for Page Plans. You need to go and check it out. Lesli and Chris are wizards with sketches! Here's two cards I did for this weeks sketch challenge:


Recipe:
Stamps: Pretty Amazing
Paper: Always Artichoke, Really Rust, Naturals Ivory, Basic Grey Mellow
Ink: Always Artichoke, markers
Accessories: Nestabilities Ovals, eyelet setter punch, brads, ribbon










Recipe:
Stamps: misc sentiment
Paper: Taken with Teal, Basic Grey dp, Pixie Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Taken with Teal, Very Vanilla Craft
Accessories: Nestabilities Ovals, white gel pen, border punch, cuttlebug, button brads, flower punches

My Monday Night Stamp Camp gals really liked both of these cards and we will probably make some to put in their card boxes on May 19.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Don't forget to comment for some blog candy on this post.

~chris

I've been tagged by Allison

This is my first time getting tagged! How cool! Here's the scoop:

7 Things Game

The Rules for 7 Things:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

These thing really make you think !!!! Here we go!

1. I am really clumsy.

2. I am acrophobic, but on our honeymoon (many years ago), I was able to stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon and feel it's power. For about 3 years after that, I wasn't as afraid. Unfortunately, it came back and now even step ladders get to me.

3. I love to put clothes on right out of the dryer - even in the summertime.

4. I have four wonderful grandchildren and another on the way!

5. Purple is my favorite color and even my grandchildren (who are all 3 or under) know that it's my color.

6. I love the idea of traveling, but the reality of it sometimes freaks me out.

7. I am a Mt. Dew addict.


There you have it!

Now to tag others... here's some folks who either left me comments or whose blogs I visit regularly!

Denise - Paper Ponderings

Brenda - Stamp It Up

Jan - Paper Tango

Barb - Barb's Card Creations

Dannie - Dannie's Designs

Lesli - Dragonfly Time

Linda - Celebration Moments

Thanks Allison ! And thanks everyone for visiting. Don't forget to leave a comment on my latest blog candy post.

~chris

BLOG CANDY! 100 Posts and 4000 Hits!

Here's some blog candy to help me celebrate 100 posts and 4000 hits on my blog. Thanks so much to all of you who have visited over the last few months that I have been doing this. I'm having so much fun and have made so many wonderful new cyber-friends. Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what your favorite online resource is for inspiration in your stamping and scrapbooking. Thanks again for visiting! I'll use random.org to choose a winner on Wednesday, April 30!

~chris

March of Dimes Walk

On January 31, 2006, Julian and Isabella Pereira came into the world a little bit earlier than expected. They were so tiny! My ds and ddl have been involved with raising money for the March of Dimes ever since. Team Pereira is participating in a fundraising walk this weekend. Grandpa is walking with them and grandma (and her broken toe) will be cheering them on from the sidelines. If you would like to help our team raise some money for this worthy cause, you can go to this website and sign up to support our fearless walkers!

Here's Isabella and Julian now. Aren't they just gorgeous! (gushing grandma alert!)

Thanks so much for visiting!

~chris

Some more owl pix

I took a field trip over to see Harold and Maude's nest in person. See my post from the other day to find out more about these wonderful creatures.

I also took this picture of the tree just below their nest.








I set this post up to automatically post on Thursday morning while we are busy getting the sailboat into the slip for the season (pix of that to follow tomorrow afternoon), but apparently I did it wrong as it appeared right away. More research needed into how that works!

Combined Challenge

I haven't been keeping up with all the wonderful challenges out there as much as I'd like, so I thought I would try combining two with this card. Kristina Werner hosts these wonderful color inspiration challenges each week. Isn't this image just gorgeous!


Here is the card I created using that inspiration and combined it with this weeks sketch challenge on SCS.

Recipe:

Stamps: Simply Said, Weathered bg
Paper: Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Natural Ivory, Spring Break DP
Ink: Basic Brown, markers
Accessories: SU pumpkin pie striped ribbon

Thanks for visiting my blog. It looks like I may have two milestones to celebrate by the weekend - 100 posts and 4000 hits! Come back and visit for a chance to win some blog candy!

~chris

Entry #2 for Amy's Super Sketch Sunday

Well, here's card #2 made from my mystery paper for Amy's Super Sketch Sunday challenge. If anyone recognizes any of these papers, or if by chance April reads this and remembers what these papers were, please let me know. I really like them! Edited to add: Amy left me a comment on Splitcoast saying the the paper in the middle is Scenic Route, Laurel Collection - Thanks Amy, you rock!

Recipe:
Stamps: Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps by Tia Bennett
Paper: Old Olive, mystery dp
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: ribbon from Mike's

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll have some blog candy up very soon to celebrate 100 posts and I've got another downline meeting coming up next Tuesday so look for a new slideshow of our swaps.

~chris

Amy's Super Sketch Sunday

The ever talented Amy Westerman (Heartfelt Greetings) has reinstated her Super Sketch Sunday challenge and I had to jump in. Since I'm such a dp collector (no giggles from the peanut gallery girls) this is really irresistable. A couple of months ago I bought a couple of large packs of 6x6 paper from April (Artistic Paperie). What a bargain, except I don't know what some of the papers are. I absolutely love them and have managed to track down a couple that I have used and really, really wanted more of. If you recognize the dp in these cards, please let me know what it is. I needed an anniversary card for my ds and ddl in Oregon and this is what I came up with.

Recipe:
Stamps: Favorite Greetings
Paper: Old Olive, unknown dp
Ink: Old Olive, markers
Accessories: ribbons from Mike's

Edited to add: Amy left me a comment on Splitcoast saying the the paper in the middle is Scenic Route, Laurel Collection - Thanks Amy, you rock!

I made another card as well, but blogger isn't cooperating, so I will upload that card later. Thanks for visiting. ~chris

Calling all owl lovers!

For any of you out there in the blogosphere who are like me and just really love birds, you need to check this out. I've been addicted to watching these guys for over a month now. My dh works at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) in Boulder, CO. A pair of Great Horned Owls have nested on one of their buildings and someone put a webcam on them. Click on the photo, or on this link to check out Harold and Maude and their two young owlets Hedwig and Errol.

It has been amazing to watch these birds - how fast they have grown! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

~chris

Fun time was had by all!

We had a wonderful time last night making cards and Dannie's great card organizer boxes!








Here's Megan and Kat showing off their creations.










These are the wonderful creations made by Sally and Jeanne.










And here is my "favorite*" ddl Lorena diligently working on hers. (*All of my ddl's are my "favorite" - I absolutely have the best ones in the world - the biggest advantage to having 5 boys is that when they grow up they bring such wonderful women into your life.)



Thanks again to Dannie for such a wonderful idea, we really had a grand time. I noticed today on her blog she has another great box and that might end up being our June project. In May we are going to make cards to fill the box we made last night!

Thanks for visiting. ~chris

Mother's Day Stamp Camp - Card Box

I used the ever talented Dannie's design with only slight modifications. Check out her super tutorial on how to make these cute card organizer boxes. The only thing that I changed was the side panels. When I showed my first attempt to my dh, his only comment was why pleat the panels if the box doesn't fold up. Maybe I did it wrong, but it got me thinking that it would be easier for a make and take to have the side panels solid. I think it is still a really handsome looking box and next month's Stamp Camp project is going to be making some all occasion cards to fill it with! Be sure to check out Dannie's blog as she always has wonderful cards and ideas and great tutorials.

I am hoping to get some pictures of the gals in action tonight and put them up along with their boxes so check back later. I'm approaching the 100 post mark as well so look for some blog candy to celebrate real soon!

Thanks for visiting. ~chris

Mother's Day Stamp Camp

Here are the projects we will be making at tonight's Mother's Day Stamp Camp. I had to change one from what I had originally planned as I realized I didn't have enough of the dp I wanted to use. I like this one just as well though. I realize looking at this now that I need to work on gettting things lined up a little better!

Recipe:
Stamps: unknown clear stamp (from Archiver's I think but can't remember)
Paper: ruby red, so saffron, mellow moss, very vanilla, Bo Bunny dp
Ink: mellow moss, markers
Accessories: mike's floral dept bling

One of the Michael's that I frequent had new colors of the little resin type bling - yellow, purple and a dazzling clear - all on sale for $2 bag, can't go wrong there.


Here's our next card:

This is just a slight variation on the original I had planned. I widened the dp strip and eliminated the vellum on the sentiment. I think it looks a little better.

Recipe:
Stamps: Oh So Lovely
Paper: soft sky, whisper white, pretty in pink, afternoon tea cp
Ink: basic black, close to cocoa, markers
Accessories: brads, ribbon, ticket corner punch

Blogger appears to be having some issues this morning, so I am going to get this posted before it quits on me altogether. I will post the card box later in the day.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

Stamp Simply Challenge - black accents

Still playing with my border punches! Such fun. This is for Sharon Johnson's (No Time To Stamp) stamp simply challenge to use black as an accent.

Recipe
Stamps: PTI Women of Life
Paper: Ruby Red, black, unknown dp
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: very old black organza embroidery ribbon, misc gold scrap ribbon, gold cord, punches - su ovals and Martha Stewart's edge punch, gold ep

This was fun and it was good to break out some of that really old emroidery ribbon I have had forever and never used. I am going to put up tomorrow night's stamp camp projects a little later today so be sure to come back and check them out. I am hoping to get some pictures of everyone's card boxes before they take them away. I think I have put together some nice color combinations for them to choose from.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

This needs something ...

This card needs something. I found the ribbon at Mike's in the Sweet Treat Ribbon section and could not resist it (especially not for $1 a roll). I love the colors and it paired well with the tempting turquoise and the whisper white strip. I thought about adding a sentiment, but .... where?

Recipe:
Stamps: Oh So Lovely
Paper: tempting turquoise, cameo coral, so saffron, gable green, whisper white
Ink: basic black, markers
Accessories: punches, ribbon

Any suggestions from the blogosphere would be welcomed. I'm getting ready for my Mother's Day Stamp Camp. Hopefully, I will remember to take some pictures to share with you.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

Mother's Day Stamp Camp Card #2

This is my second card design for my Monday Night Stamp Camp for Mother's Day. I've been playing with my edge punches and I like the lacy look with this dp.

Recipe:
Stamps: clear acrylic from Archiver's - sorry don't remember who makes it
Paper: PTI Berry Sorbet, Basic Grey dp, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Ruby Red, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Blue Bayou, markers
Accessories: punches, brads

Thanks for visiting. ~chris

SFYTT - April 13, 2008

Here's my card for Jen's Sketch for You to Try this week. IRL the ribbon is closer to close to cocoa that it looks in this picture. I'm still struggling with my new camera. I'll get there - eventually.

Recipe:
Stamps: Seeing Spots
Paper: cameo coral, ruby red, close to cocoa, groovy guava, basic grey dp
Ink: close to cocoa
Accessories: punches, cb, ribbon, brads

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

April 10, 2008 Downline Meeting

I promised some links to the sneak peaks I have been finding on the web, so here are three links to Patty's Stamping Spot and her photos and fun descriptions of the Bermuda Cruise:

Bermuda Cruise - our cabin, gifts from SU! and the NEW IN COLORS!
Bermuda Cruise - Swaps, samples, new sets
Bermuda Cruise - New Owl Set & "Wheel" Portraits

Patty has a wonderful blog and if you click on the banner at the top of her blog you can view all of her fun entries! You can also click on the link to her blog on the list on the right side of my blog.

Here is the slideshow of the swaps from our downline meeting on April 10, 2008 (Autumn, I apologize for not grabbing one of yours! Yikes!). Thanks to everyone for the wonderful make and takes (photos to follow once I finish coloring my pirate!) and to our always delightful hostess, Kathy Peterson!

April Downline Swap #1

Here is my swap for my first downline meeting in April. The larger group is meeting on the 29th and for that swap we need to use items from the mini. Once again, I'm just loving this dp!

Recipe:

Stamps: Friendship Blooms, Stitched Exotics, Seeing Spots
Paper: Soft Sky, Pretty in Pink, Afternoon Tea dp, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: punches, soft sky ribbon, brads

Thanks for visiting my blog!

~chris

Mercy's Sketch Challenge

Mercy Kerin over at Lord Have Mercy! is hosting her first sketch challenge. I really loved her sample and thought I'd give it a try. Here's my entry. I'm thinking about using this layout as one of my cards for my Mother's Day Stamp Camp on April 21st. What do you think?

Recipe:

Stamps: Oh So Lovely, Mike's $1 bin sentiment
Paper: Afternoon Tea dp, Whisper White, Soft Sky, PTI Sweet Blush, vellum
Ink: Soft Sky, markers, StazOn Black
Accessories: Mike's ribbon, brads

I love the Afternoon Tea paper and I think it is perfect for getting a nice soft, elegant look on a card.

Thanks for visiting! ~chris

Layered Ribbon and card folder

Here is the card I made for the try a new technique challenge yesterday on Splitcoast Stampers. The challenge was to layer ribbon on your card.

Recipe:

Stamps: Always, SU sentiment
Paper: pretty in pink, close to cocoa, soft sky, afternoon tea dp, whisper white
Ink: close to cocoa, versamark
Accessories: mm button brads, punches, silver hodgepodge hardware, ribbon from mikes, white ep

I absolutely love the afternoon tea designer paper from SU. I need to use it more often!



I received a wonderful PIF from Denise (see her blog for pictures) and I just had to try making one of these cute card folders. This card has a bunch of different stamped images and some of the cb embossed butterfly die cuts tucked inside. Be the first to leave me a comment on this post and I will send it to you! Congrats to Melissa! Your card folder is on it's way to you.

Recipe:
Stamps: butterfly bg from I Brake for Stamps
Paper: perfect plum, elegant eggplant, basic black, soft sky, groovy guava, barely banana, whisper white
Ink: elegant eggplant
Accessories: cb die cut/embossing set, mike's ribbon, punches

This was a fun card to make and fill. Thanks so much to Denise for her inspiring PIF!

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you want to win this card folder, be sure to leave a comment that gives me a way to contact you (i.e. not anonymous).

~chris

Couple of Cards on a Sunday Afternoon

Here is the card I made for the newest member of my SU family - Megan. Megan signed up on March 17 and we are all so excited to have her. She is so creative and enthusiastic and I am sure she will have lots of fun as an SU demonstrator! Welcome Megan and Happy Birthday!

I don't have the card in front of me anymore and I am not sure of the colors, but I think there's real red, more mustard, bayou blue, whisper white, brushed copper and the dp is by Daisy D. I used my ticket corner punch and cb embossing folder.



Here is my card for Beate's weekend sketch challenge.

Recipe:

Stamps: So Many Scallops
Paper: always artichoke, blue bayou, whisper white, retired su dp and basic grey dp
Ink: blue bayou
Accessories: punches, brads, button, yarn



And last, but definitely not least, I want to share a card that I got today with all of you. My ddl, Autumn, called and asked me if I wanted to go to Archiver's with her. Of course, I said YES! She had called earlier this week and told me she made a really cute card that she was really happy with and wanted to show it to me. She brought me this card. Isn't it cute?



On the inside it says:






and under the flap was the following message:









I'm going to be a grandma again!

I am so excited! We were very happy with four, but one more is definitely welcome! Isabella and Julian will have a new brother or sister and Kael and Natalie will have a new cousin! YAY!

Hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did and that your week is equally fulfilling! Thanks for visiting my blog! ~chris

Yes, I'm still alive!

The big project at the office went out the door yesterday afternoon! Can you say - whew! It has been a really hectic week and I have so been a bad blogger. I promise to have some new stuff to show you tomorrow though! I'm in the planning stages for a Mom's Day stamp camp and can finally put up a picture of the birthday card I made for my newest team member, Megan!

All the blog candy and pif mailings should be arriving soon! Thanks to everyone who played.

Thanks for hanging in there! See you tomorrow. ~chris

April is a busy Birthday Month!

I have alot of friends and family with birthdays this month. I thought I would try to combine some challenges with making cards for all these folks. Here's my first attempt using Julee's Mojo Monday 31 challenge:

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched background, So Many Scallops
Paper: pretty in pink, certainly celery, lovely lavender, barely banana, whisper shite, basic grey dp
Ink: cameo coral, lovely lavender
Accessories: certainly celery ribbon, dotted ribbon from Taylored Expressions, punches, cb

The second one is just me playing around with this cool ribbon I found at Mike's in the $1 bin:

Recipe:
Stamps: Favorite Greetings
Paper: certainly celery, pixie pink, unknown dp, whisper white
Accessories: punches, baubles from Mike's floral dept, $1 bin ribbon

I haven't heard from the blog candy winner yet. If any of you reading this know Sheila, please have her email me. I will wait till Friday to hear from her and if I don't, then I'll do another drawing via random.org.

Edit: Sheila has contacted me and her blog candy is on it's way - CONGRATS Sheila - I hope you enjoy it!

My oval nesties arrived yesterday and I hope to be able to play with them tonight. If anyone knows of a temporary substance I could use in place of the tan embossing mat, please let me know. I have ordered one, but really want to play with this new toy NOW!

Thanks so much for visiting. I still have one PIF blog candy package that really wants a home .... Edit: last PIF blog candy has been spoken for!

Sheila is the Blog Candy Winner!

Okay here it is - drumroll please ......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

12 

Timestamp: 2008-04-01 14:20:19 UTC

That means the winner is:

sheila said...

Congrat on your hits. Sweet of you to celebrate by sharing. I have the scallop punch so this set would be great for my collection. I'm so sorry I never chose that set because there are some great cards made with it. Thanks again for sharing.

March 29, 2008 9:33 PM

Congratulations Sheila! I need your snail mail address so that I can get this candy off to you. Please email me and I'll get it out right away.

Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments! Come back and visit later today and I'll have a couple of birthday cards to show you. I'm still fighting with this new camera, but hopefully these will come out okay.

~chris