Merry Christmas!

The past few months have been busy. I've been a stampin' factory as I made over 60 Christmas cards before Thanksgiving. Also managed a class and a couple of workshops in that time. Then began our travels. First to Seattle for 10 days over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit our son and his family. A week at home to get laundry and Christmas shopping and decorating done and then off to Columbia, SC for our daughter Lori's graduation from the University of South Carolina. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and we are so very proud of her! Needless to say, I've had to scurry to catch up with the holiday shopping. At any rate, it's all done...just need to get the Christmas cards addressed and mailed.

In the midst of our busy-ness we need to remember the reason for the season. May the peace of Christmas enfold you and fill you with love and joy.

Tri-Shutter Card

Here is the Tri-Shutter Card closed. Closed it measures 5-1/2"x4-1/4" and will fit into an A2 envelope. Scroll down to see this card open and for information on my Fancy Folds class.

FANCY FOLDS CLASS

I know some of my customers are very anxious to get back to my classes, and I am just as anxious to be teaching again. So I'm planning a Fancy Folds Class on Wednesday September 23, at 10 am. These are the two projects we will do.

The top card is a monochromatic Tri Shutter Card. I love the uniqueness of this fold. The bottom card is a Criss Cross Card. I love the new In Colors and the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, with a great combination of Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive.

These are fun cards to do and not as difficult as they look. So come and stamp with me on Sept. 23!

HELLO?

Is anyone there? I have been posting to my blog for some time, but is anybody viewing it? Please let me know if you enjoy my blog by posting a comment or becoming a follower (click on the link on the right side). I love to be able to share my work by way of this blog, but if no one is viewing or appreciating it, then I'm wasting my time, so please respond. Thanks!!! and Happy Stampin'!

I'M BAAACK!

Gosh, I can't believe it's been 2 MONTHS since my last post. It's been quite a summer. I went in for a stress test, followed by a heart catheterization and immediately followed by quadruple by-pass open heart surgery. So, as you can imagine, my summer has been spent recovering.

I have been so blessed by many friends and neighbors who have brought meals, gifts, have called, visited, and sent cards (54 in all!) So, needless to say, I have been busy making thank you cards! I did manage to pull some out of my 'stash' of retired samples, so that helped. Here are a couple of cards I made and more are posted down the side. For these cards I used the hostess set called Country Morning. It's a fun set to water color. The sentiments are from a set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. I have used this set a lot and it's proving to be a good investment. The little phrases fit many of our punches, hardware, etc. and the assortment of phrases fit many different occasions.

I also received some beautiful hand crafted cards from my stamping friends and I'll try to get those scanned and posted shortly.

NEW CATALOG!

The Stampin' Up! 2009/10 Idea Book and Catalog started yesterday and it's a beauty! I love the new in-colors and there are so many neat stamp sets and accessories! I can't wait to share it with you. I will be having a New Catty Open House on Saturday, July 18, with gifts, door prize, retired product for sale and, of course, new catalogs for you to shop from. E-mail me for more details.

June went by so fast, I didn't even get around to blogging. I did, however, enjoy some good stamping time with my daughter and up-line, Lori. She came for a 2 week visit with the grand kids. I CASE'd these two cards from her creations...cause I thought they were so cool. Thanks, Lori, for letting me reproduce these nifty cards. I've posted my other creations down the side of this blog. I have more cards to scan that I will post later...cards I made for a friend who wanted no sentiment, mailable cards.

Masculine Cards

With Father's Day this month, I thought it would be a good time to have a masculine card class. So on Wednesday, June 10 at 10:00 am you will have a chance to learn how to make a hinged card as we make 3 masculine cards. The fishy card was cased from 3boysstampin' on SplitCoastStampers. You can see her card HERE. Also, on June 1 Stampin' Up! will release both the Last Chance Stamp List and the Last Chance Accessories list. These are products that will be retiring on July 1, so June is the last chance you will have to order them. E-mail me at kathystamps @gmail.com if you'd like to see this list when it is released. I will have it available at my class on the 10th as well.

My daughter and up-line, Lori Gladders, will be coming for a visit from June 5 until June 20. I am really looking forward to seeing her and the grandkids and having some quality stamp time with her. And, of course, she will be here for my workshop on the 10th. : )

Happy Stampin'!
Kathy

NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING MONTH

Since May is National Scrapbooking Month, I will be having a scrapbook class on Thursday, May 21. With summer on the horizon I thought I'd do a Summer Fun page using the cute new set from the Occasions Mini Catalog called Just Beachy. It's such a fun and whimsical set. Also, the Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper is perfect for this layout. If you'd like more info on this class, please e-mail me at kathystamps@gmail.com.

Anytime Cards

I just finished a project for a friend who wanted a set of note cards that didn't have sentiments so she could use them any time for any occasion. I used one of my favorite papers from 2006/07 of which I still had a supply. This paper, called Recollections, was featured on the cover of the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog that year. I made 2 of each design for a set of 8. The colors are Cranberry Crisp, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand, and Very Vanilla. I made them without any lumpy embellishments so they would be mailable at the *new* $.44 rate. I hope she likes them.

Workshop

Yesterday I met with some other Stampin' Up! demonstrators to swap and stamp. We made an adorable little paper purse using the Top Note BigZ Sizzix Die. We also made this beautiful Mother's Day card using the remnant of the die cut. I'd like to share these projects with my stamping friends, so I'll be having a workshop on Friday, April 24 at 10:00 am. This will be a free workshop, so just bring your own adhesive and come have some stampin' fun with me.

Spring Break

I spent nearly two weeks with our grandsons in Bradenton over Spring break while their mom meet up with our son Steve in Seattle to house hunt. As soon as school is out they will be joining him there permanently. This will be another place to add to our travels. I had a blast with the kids. We went to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, to the movies, bowling, and played lots of Spiderman Uno. There is a neat water park at the Aquarium and the boys had a "blast"...as in water blast guns.

Russ meet up with me in Bradenton after a 2+ weeks stint with the Red Cross in North Dakota. He came back with a serious case of bronchitis and ended up on several meds. He needed to get well quickly so he could manage his job as logistics chairman for the Fleming Island Relay for Life this last weekend. The Relay was a big success and we were thankful that the weather was good, as in years past it's not been so cooperative.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Happy Spring!

Wow, two posts in one day! Aren't you amazed? I just wanted to share two more cards with you that I have done using the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper. The colors in this paper are Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Bashful Blue and Sahara Sand. I just love the Saffron and Blue together, with just a hint of the Celery on the birdie card. The little bird is from a hostess set in the Fall/Winter IBC and was colored with water color pencils. I used the scallop border punch on vellum paper and pleated it for the trim on this card. The Birthday card uses the Nestabilities plain and scalloped oval templates, Cuttlebug dots embossing folder, and the Delicate Dots DSP. The flower is from the pretties kit and was water colored using a Bashful Blue marker. I have a couple of birthday's coming up that I'll need cards for, so these are all ready for me to send.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Spring is in the Air

I am loving Spring...seeing all the budding and blooming and enjoying warm sunny days. I'm also enjoying Spring colors in my card crafting. I made a wedding card for our grand niece in Texas...my favorite kind of card to make. I used an embossed velum over-lay over Blush Blossom cardstock, then added a silver ribbon and silver embossing and Stampin' Up's new heart punch layered over silver cardstock. The Easter card was done with the flowers from the Close As a Memory set, using the water color crayons. I drew right onto the rubber with the crayons, misted it with water and stamped on water color paper. I layered the card with the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper that is available as a FREE Sale-A-Bration item. I love this paper and have done several projects with it. At my next craft class we will be doing this Easter card along with a gift card folder with cards and envelopes...this should make a great hostess gift! If you'd like more information on this class you can e-mail me at kathystamps@gmail.com.

Glad to be in Florida!

At the Regional Seminar in Orlando last month we had this *SNOW* scrapbook page to do as a make-and-take. Living in Florida since 1981, I had to dig deep into old photos to come up with some pictures to put on this page. The pictures are from the Great Chicago Blizzard of 1979. This was the year we decided that at the first chance we would move south. I really don't miss the shoveling and scraping the car every morning before going to work. I'll take the heat...at least you don't have to shovel it! I made a companion page to go with the one we did at the Regional Seminar. These pages are 8-1/2"x 8-1/2" each. Feel free to leave a comment.

Recycling

As promised, here is my card to Sylvia. I had some frames that were created when I die cut shapes for my swaps for the Stampin' Up Regional seminar last month. So I decided to use one on this card. I framed a piece of designer paper from the Bella Rose collection. I cut out one of the roses from another piece, glittered the highlights, dtp on the edges, then attached it using Stampin' Dimensionals. The faux ribbon is a piece of cardstock that I embossed with the new Texturz Plates polka dots, and rubbed it over Whisper White stamp pad to make the dots pop. The faux buckle was made from silver cardstock using the 3/4" punch then the 1/2" punch to make a ring. A simple card that was fun to make. I hope it brings a little bit of cheer to my dear friend.

NEW STUFF!

Since my last post I have made a birthday card for daughter Lori and a sympathy card for our friend Dawn, who recently lost her father. I just finished a card for my friend Sylvia who is going through a hard time, but I haven't scanned it yet. It's after midnight, so I'll try and get it done tomorrow.

I received my demo copy of the Occasions Mini Catalog yesterday and it's chocked full of fabulous product: stamps, embellishments, paper, rub-ons, a new Big Shot die and something new: Printed Window Sheets. Wow! I want it all! The Easter sets will be available for customer ordering on March 1, but the rest will not be available until April 1. Can't wait!

Today I received an order from Stampin' Up! I ordered some of the new textured cardstock, which is so beautiful. I also ordered the new embossing plates for the Big Shot, and being a punch junky, of course I had to order the new heart punch. I'm looking forward to creating with my new supplies and will post them when I'm finished. In the meantime....HAPPY STAMPIN!

Sale-A-Bration

It's Sale-A-Bration time! My favorite time of the year for Stampin' Up! For every $50 purchase we can get a SAB stamp set for FREE! Check out the SAB brochure.

I'm looking forward to a craft class on Monday, Feb. 9, 7 PM and Wednesday, 10 AM. I will be teaching some cool techniques with punches. I'm a "punch junky" and really looking forward to this class. The owl card and Koala card were swaps I received at the Regional Seminar from demonstrator Sandy Haynes. The St. Pat's card was CASE'd from my daughter and upline, Lori Gladders.

New Stampin' Up! Catalog

I love the new spring/summer catalog and have spent hours pouring through it...my wish list keeps growing! I'm looking forward to sharing it at my open house this Saturday (the 24th) from 10 am to 2 pm. I still need to make my little gifts for everyone and go through my retired stamps to see what I want to sell. It's hard to part with these "old friends" but I need to make room for new stuff. I love that SU is now selling single stamps as well as sets, and the textured DS paper is awesome. Textured plates for the Sizzix Big Shot are a real plus, and being a punch junkie, I'm loving the eyelet border punch. There are many beautiful new stamp sets, DS paper, rub-ons, etc. etc. Oh to be rich...I want it all!

FUN WEEKEND

I attended the Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar this past weekend in Orlando with my good friend and downline, Deb Felts. We had such a GREAT time! I made 22 cards in two designs for swapping (shown here) and received some neat swaps back. Met some wonderful new friends, thanks to Deb, and had so much fun yakking it up over dinner...lots of fun and lots of laughs. There were nearly 1000 women in attendance at the seminar and I had the chance to see some demonstrators I hadn't seen in awhile. We saw some of the items from the new catalog and lots of neat techniques were demonstrated. We had 5 make-and-takes, some using the new Sizzix die cut machine. Cool stuff.

Today, after I came home from running errands, my box of new catalogs was waiting for me. WOOHOOO! Needless to say, I haven't gotten much else done today as I absolutely had to pour over the new catty several times. :) I can't wait to share it with everyone, so I'm planning a New Catalog Open House for January 24 from 10 am to 2 pm. There will be retired products for sale, door prizes, gifts, food, fun, a little bit of stamping and, of course, the new catalog.

Joy Fold Card

As promised, here is the Joy Fold Card we'll be making at Friday's workshop. I've made a resolution to be more diligent in posting to my blog, so check back often.

The holidays are over, and we're starting a new year with all kinds of resolutions that we probably won't keep, but the most exciting thing that's happening is the Regional Seminar this Saturday and the new catalog that will hopefully turn up on my doorstep next week. (Whew, now that's a long sentence!) Can you tell I'm excited? Nevertheless, I need to get focused on the workshop I'm holding tomorrow morning, right before I leave for the regional seminar. Got a great deal on a room at the Rosen Centre, right next door to the convention center. I'll be sharing the room with my wonderfully creative downline, Deb. Our hope is to get some swaps done Friday evening, so we'll be bringing lots of stampin stuff to play with. Okay, okay, back to my workshop. We'll be making a wine glass candle lamp...a design that was posted on the technique challenge on Splitcoaststampers a few weeks ago. We'll also be doing a Valentine joy fold card. I LOVE making valentine cards, almost as much as making Christmas cards. I will be posting pictures of both of these.