A Very Special Thank You

Yesterday all of the ladies at work gathered together at lunch for a session on women's health. This is something that we do about once a quarter - we've had speakers from a local hospital come in and talk to us about topics such as breast cancer, fitness & diet, depression, and menopause. This past session focused on ovarian cancer and was so very informative!

We've had the same nurse come to talk to us these last few times...and let me just say, she is fabulous! She's so full of energy and is so passionate about women's health issues. She can even make a colonoscopy seem not-so-scary! I thought that I'd make her a little set of notes with my Causeabella stamp. Similar to the pink ribbons for breast cancer, aqua ribbons show support for ovarian cancer research. I used my Soft Sky Designer Series Paper for the background and kept the layout pretty simple. I'm going to package these notes in a clear box with a cute little belly band and send them to her with a coordinating thank you note signed by all the ladies in the office.




While I have your attention, I'm going to pass along a few bits of important information:

1) Ovarian cancer not detectable by a pap smear alone - you need a blood test and an ultrasound to detect any abnormalities on your ovaries.

2) While familiy history of ovarian cancer can put you at a higher risk for developing it, an absence of ovarian cancer in your family doesn't make you immune!

3) Know your body. Warning signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer can be easily attributed to other causes. If something doesn't feel right, talk to your doctor. If you are not comfortable talking to your doctor or if he/she dismisses your concerns - FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR!

Long time...no post!

During my little "vacation" I took a break from everything...including blogging! I spent time with family, I spent time in my craft room, I spent time Christmas shopping...it was great. Unfortunately, it was back to the real world yesterday, so I figured I should get back to blogging as well.


I mentioned before that this year, instead of mass creating one card, I'm going to do a variety of different cards. While I was off work, I got a great start on different parts of my Christmas cards, but I didn't have a single card completely finished...until tonight. This is my first card that is completely finished.

The color combination that I used for this one is a little unconventional when it comes to Christmas cards, but I love Soft Sky, Regal Rose, and Wild Wasabi together! You may not be able to see it all that well, but there is irridescent ice embossed on the ornament. I think I might have gotten a little carried away with the different layers...I hope I don't have to pay extra postage!

What a FABULOUS day?!?

Let me just start off by saying that today was a FABULOUS day! I had a spa appointment this morning...so I have been scrubbed, exfoliated, moisturized, masked, waxed, polished and pampered. And to make it even better, I had a gift certificate so it didn't put a dent in my wallet!!! When I get out of the spa, my hubby called to say he was heading down to the hunting camp and he'd be back tomorrow night. You know what that means...I don't have to cook dinner! See what I mean about a fabulous day?!? Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby dearly and I'll miss him while he's gone...but he needs some time to enjoy his hobbies too!

Once I got home from the spa, I shut myself in my craft room to finally start my Christmas cards. This year, there were so many Christmas stamp sets that I wanted to use - I couldn't narrow it down to just one design! So I decided that since I have about 110 cards to send out, that I'll create 10 each of 11 different designs. That way I get to use all of my favorite images AND I don't get bored coloring/embossing/punching the same things over and over! (I may totally regret this later, but so far its pretty fun!)

Here are a couple of images from Big On Christmas that I'll be using on different layouts. I borrowed this set from my generous downline and friend, Trish. And since its on loan, I better get to stampin'!

Vacation time

I had some vacation days left and with the end of the year quickly approaching, I just HAD to take them (the company I work for has a "use it or lose it" policy when it comes to vacation days). So...I'm off work this whole week! I've caught up on all of my chores, so that means I get to spend some uninterrupted time in the craft room. Considering that I haven't even started my Christmas cards, I think I'll be stamping my little heart out!!

Here is one of the projects from the Stampers 7 workshop that was this past Saturday. This scrapbook page features a faux metal tag embossed with the scribbly-Christmas tree from Solemn Stillness. I'm getting better about making scrapbook pages, but I'm still bad about taking pictures. When I sat down and put this page together, I envisioned a cute picture of my hubby and I picking out our Christmas tree and another of the tree once its fully decorated. I'll make an extra effort to carry my camera with me when we go tree shopping and hopefully the finished page will look as cute as it does in my head right now!

Another Stampers 7 Project

Here is a 8 1/2" x 11" scrapbook page we'll be doing this weekend at the Stampers 7 workshop. I mentioned before that the theme is Advanced Embossing and on this project I used the Embossing Resist technique. At the bottom of the page, I embossed the Bold Snowflakes with clear embossing powder and then I sponged over them with my white craft pad. This left a real soft look that reminded me of snow!

The title is stamped in my fave alphabet set - Jumbo Outline Alphabet. The first two words are stamped in Bashful Blue and then colored in with a VersaMarker. "snow" is stamped in Bashful Blue, Pretty In Pink, and Wild Wasabi. I punched out photo corners (which I'm now TOTALLY addicted to!) but I'm waiting until I mount my photo before I glue them down.

Keep checking back for more projects from this weekend - there are still a couple that you haven't seen yet!

Thankful Garland

When I saw the ultra-cute Thankful garland in the Holiday Mini Catalog, I decided I need to make one myself! Well...I'm finally done! (Just in time to drop it in the mail to my grandparents in West Virginia!)

The garland was a little tougher than I originally thought. Especially since I am hobby-blade-challenged. And I didn't quite embellish it as much as the sample, but I still love the way it turned out and am quite proud of the finished product! I think I might even use the remaining letters for a JOY garland. (I can certainly tough it out for a 3-letter word!)

Stampers 7 - Cracked Glass

The Stampers 7 group meets this month and the theme for the workshop is Advanced Embossing. Most of my gals are familiar with embossing, but I'm going to be showing them how to step it up a bit. One of the techniques that we'll be learning is the Cracked Glass technique. I love the way that this technique gives your image a real vintage/antiqued look.

This card was inspired by one that I saw on Corie's blog. Hers was much more detailed and had some great embellishments. But for this workshop I wanted everyone to really concentrate on learning how to do the technique, so I scaled it back a bit!

The main image is inked with Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers and then embossed numerous times with Glassy Glaze. The background stamp is Print Pattern (one of my all-time faves and my vote for the most versatile!) and its stamped in Always Artichoke Classic ink on a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock. The greeting is stamped with Always Artichoke as well. To dress the greeting up a bit, I punched the corners with the ticket corner punch!

Thanks Corie for the great inspiration!

Thanksgiving Card

Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend - my wireless internet connection was down! So I had to wait until I got to work to upload this card.

This is my Thanksgiving card this year - I love the sketchy-line art of these pumpkins! Plus I figured it was a good time to practice my watercoloring. The layout is a little simplistic - I'm just itching to go back and add something else to it. Maybe the leaf images watercolored and cut out...or some ribbon somewhere. I'm not sure what its missing, but I feel like its missing something. But I better hurry and make up my mind so I can get these in the mail before next week!

Thank U

Have you ever been trudging through your day, completing everyday tasks when you get a great idea for a card or scrapbook page? You can't drop what you're doing, scurry off to your crafting area and create your masterpiece - so you tell yourself that as soon as you get a spare minute, you'll start stamping. Then, when you get a chance to actually sit down and commit your idea to paper, the inspiration is gone! Vanished! That happened to me today - I had a ton of ideas throughout the day. Projects that I thought would be cute, color combos that I wanted to use, and layouts that really stood out. But when I made my way to my craft room, I just stared at the cardstock like it was going to stamp itself!!! Ugh!

Believe it or not, this card started off as a tent-topper card...but it just wasn't working for me. I loved this patterned paper and wanted to use it as the background, but I couldn't get the main image right. Finally I settled on this "Thank U" sentiment from True Friend. I think this stamp really coordinates with the rustic, western feel of the patterned paper.

The sentiment is stamped on to a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and then the edges were distressed with the Cutter Kit. The scalloped square was punched with the Marvy Giga Scalloped Square punch (hopefully Stampin' Up! with have a scalloped square soon).

Whenever I pull out this paper to use on a project, I feel the need to use these jumbo eyelets with it. I just love the look that the combination gives to the project! And, of course, I had to throw in some of the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

I'm not giving up on the tent-topper just yet - there are still a couple of ideas I have floating around in my head (and hopefully tomorrow, I won't draw a creative blank when it comes to actually doing them)!

Drum Roll Please....

The winners are Jill, Nancy, and Dishaloo! If you guys will send me your addresses (aksimplesentiments@yahoo.com), I'll get your goodies out to you! Remember, its your turn to Pay It Forward! If you don't have a blog or website, then do something sweet for three special people in your life.

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments! This was so much fun, I might have to offer blog candy more often!

Blog Candy Pics

I promised sneak peeks at the Blog Candy that I'm offering up tomorrow - so here you go! The first is two packs of double-sided patterned paper (from the 2006 Holiday Mini), the second is a new spool of Whisper White grosgrain ribbon and white eyelets, and the third is the Christmas Simply Scrappin' Kit from last years catalog! I figured with the holidays around the corner, you guys might like some papers/embellishments that you can incorporate into your holiday projects. Each winner will also get a little something extra thats personalized. (Once the winners are drawn and the goodies are personalized, I'll post pics of them too!)

So if you are interested in snatching up any one of these holiday-themed items, then scroll down to the original Blog Candy post and leave a comment. I'll draw three names Wednesday night. And don't let not having a blog keep you from entering - even if you don't have a blog or a website, you can still Pay It Forward by passing along goodies to three lucky people in your life!

Oh So Lovely!

I love this poppy image from the Oh So Lovely hostess stamp set. Its so versatile, you can use it for a wide variety of occasions! For this project, I paired the Define Your Life stamp set with the Headline Alphabet for the greeting and used the poppy as my main image.

The flower is stamped with StazOn and then watercolored with the Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pads and an Aqua Painter. I tied a piece of yummy satin Purely Pomegranate ribbon around the matted image (this ribbon is just plain GORGEOUS in person). The black brads in the upper right corner help to balance out the wide ribbon.

My stamp campers have the option of using any of the definitions from the Define Your Life stamp set. Once they decide on a word, they'll stamp the corresponding letter in River Rock on to the River Rock card base. Then the definition is stamped over the letter with the Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad. I just love the way the letter looks behind the definition!

JOY

When I received my swap cards in the mail from Corie, there was one color combo that really caught my eye. It was a Christmas card that featured Soft Sky, Pretty In Pink, and Basic Black. I loved the way the soft colors looked together on a Christmas card, so I decided to use it for my All About Alphas stamp camp. Only I substituted Wild Wasabi for the Basic Black - it was hard enough stamping green snowflakes, I don't think I could have brought myself to stamping black ones!!!

"J" and "Y" is from the Big Deal alphabet set and is stamped in Soft Sky. The "O" is actually a snowflake image from the Snow Burst stamp set. Its stamped with a Pretty In Pink Craft Pad and is embossed with Irridescent Ice embossing powder. I punched out the snowflake image with the 1 3/8" Circle punch, layered it on a piece of scalloped Soft Sky, and popped it up with a dimensional. The double-stitched grosgrain was a last minute add - there was just too much empty space on the ends.

Other words that would work for this card - Snow, Noel, Love, Home...can you think of any others?

Blog Candy - Pay It Forward!

When I got home from my trip to West Virginia for my grandfather's funeral, I checked a couple of my favorite blogs to see what I had missed while I was gone. Turns out that I won some BLOG CANDY! Yay!!! Flossie from Flossie's Follies posted some Blog Candy (Pay It Forward-style) and I was one of the winners! Thanks Flossie - you made my day!

Now its my turn to Pay It Forward. Here's the deal: leave a comment on this post and on Wednesday (11/7) I'll randomly pick three winners. If I pick your name, you'll send me your address and then I'll send you some goodies (which I'll post pics of tomorrow). Then those three Pay It Forward by posting blog candy on their websites/blogs!

Check back tomorrow - I finally made my way back into my craft room and I have some goodies to share!