CASEing KAREN with MAKEESHA'S SKETCH

Thanks to all of you who have been asking about my foot! The infection seems to be slowly going away, and I am able to spend more time without my foot elevated. You know what that means! ... Stampin' time! As I was blog surfing for inspiration this morning, I came across THIS CARD by Karen Thomas, and knew I had to case it! I love how she worked in all those different images from the one stamp set, A Happy Heart, so beautifully! Karen's card and my card both use Makeesha Byl's sketch found HERE.

I had a heck of a time photographing this card, until I finally settled for this shot. What you can't see in the photo is that I used the Priceless Classy Brass Template to paper pierce the 1 3/8" Basic Black circle behind the Feb. 14 image. There are several different layers popped up on dimensionals. As always, all products are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.RECIPE
Stamps: A Happy Heart
Paper: Candy Lane DP, Basic Black and Pink Pirouette CS
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Embellishments: Button Bouquet, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: 1/2", 1" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Priceless Classy Brass Template, Paper Piercing Tool w/ Mat Pack
Supplies: Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

JANUARY weSTAMP MEETING

The other night, we had our local Stampin' Up! weSTAMP demonstrator meeting and swap at the home of Leah Sinatra. We hadn't had a meeting since the first part of December, so there was alot of catching up and lots of excitement over the NEW 2009 Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog!

No meeting would be complete without a special treat. Pam Wood provided these beautiful and delicious cupcakes ...Our swap theme this month was to create a SIMPLE, demonstrate-able card with minimum layers and embellishments ... a card ideal for a beginning stamper class.(Please note that my swap card {above} was case'd from Jen at My Stampin' Spot).

Diana Knight prepared our Make 'n Take, this beautiful waterfall card. You can find a tutorial on SCS for Waterfall Cards HERE.Thanks for looking!

EMBELLISHMENT and DESIGNER PAPER SHARES

Thank you for the overwhelming response to my Stampin' Up! Embellishment Shares and Designer Paper Shares posted yesterday! Several groups of eight have already filled, and I will continue to take orders for new groups of eight.

Again, if you would like to participate in either of these shares (or BOTH!), all you have to do is e-mail me at nrileycm@cox.net stating which shares you'd like to participate in, along with your e-mail and shipping address. I will then e-mail a Paypal invoice to you.

Here are some other questions that have come up ... so if you're in the share groups, please read...

* Please send payment through Paypal as soon as possible, as there are other share group members counting on this whole process to move quickly.

* Once I receive all payments from a group of eight, I will immediately place the order with Stampin' Up! Please allow time for me to receive the order, separate & cut, and mail. Please know that I won't "sit" on the product, and will get it mailed as soon as possible. (I have visions of me cutting paper and sorting brads & buttons until the wee hours of the night! LOL!).

* If you committed to both a Designer Paper Share AND an Embellishment Share or more than one share of either, there is no additional shipping charge. I can ship both together in the same package.

* If you are local (Phoenix area) ... you can either pick up your share with no additional charge, or I can mail to you with the standard shipping charge of $5.00.

THANK YOU for your participation! I am so excited that we'll all be getting a sampling of the new Stampin' Up! embellishments and designer papers!

Nancy

EMBELLISHMENT SHARE

Would you like to receive the new Brads, Buttons, and Clips from the NEW Stampin' Up! catalog!? I am organizing an Embellishments Share right now where you can rreceive a sampling of the items described below at a fraction of the cost of buying a full package of each new item! You can buy one package of each new item for approx. $107 plus tax and shipping, OR join this share and get one of everything shipped to you for only $16.00!

Your embellishment share will include these 52 pieces:

• 3 Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176
  
• 3 Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176
• 3 Kraft Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176

• 3 Pacific Point Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176
• 3 Pumpkin Pie Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176
• 3 Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons, pg. 176
• 3 - 1/2" Library Clips (one Chocolate Chip, one Old Olive, one Whisper White, pg. 176
• 3-5 Latte Buttons (one of each style), pg. 176
• 10 Jumbo 5/16" Brads (one Chocolate Chip, one Very Vanilla, one Whisper White, one Silver), pg. 174
• 4 Jumbo 5/8" Brads (one Chocolate Chip, one Very Vanilla, one Whisper White, one Silver)
• 9 Clear Rhinestone Brads, pg. 174
• 4 Flower Assortment brads (one Pumpkin Pie, one Pretty in Pink, one So Saffron, one Chocolate Chip), pg. 175

This share includes the 52 pieces described above, and they can be seen on pgs. 174, 175 and 176 of the NEW 2009 Spring-Summer Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.

This offer is for local customers and iSTAMP readers within the United States. If you are interested in joining my Embellishment Share, please e-mail me at nrileycm@cox.net with your name, shipping address, e-mail address, and the quantity of shares you wish to purchase. Once I receive eight shares, I will send you a Paypal invoice for easy payment. If you need your share shipped there will be an additional shipping charge of $5.00. Local customers may pick up their shares.

I am also offering a Designer Paper Share HERE.

DESIGNER PAPER SHARE

The NEW Stampin' Up! Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog is here! Don't you wish you could order one of everything?! I do! That's why I'm offering this Stampin' Up! Designer Paper Share - the PERFECT way for you to get a 6 x 6 sample of every single pattern of designer paper from every single pack as shown above and in the new 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog. You can view the catalog online HERE, or contact me for your hard copy today ... nrileycm@cox.net.

By participating in this Designer Paper Share, you will receive 96 - 6 x 6 sheets of double-sided designer series paper AND 24 - 6 x 6 sheets of double-sided textured designer series paper (120 sheets total) for only $28!! If you were to purchase each pack of designer paper separately, you would spend over $207 + tax + shipping & handling. This is a great opportunity to get a sampling of each pattern in the new catalog in a very cost effective way! A group of 8 will share each pack of Designer Series Paper and once a group is filled I'll order the designer paper and prepare it for shipping or pick up.

This offer is for local customers and iSTAMP readers within the United States. If you are interested in joining my Designer Paper Share, please me at nrileycm@cox.net with your name, shipping address, e-mail address, and the quantity of shares you wish to purchase. Once I receive eight shares, I will send you a Paypal invoice for easy payment. If you need your share shipped there will be an additional shipping charge of $5.00. Local customers may pick up their shares.

Don't miss this wonderful opportunity! Read all about my Embellishment Share too!

hey, CUPCAKE

I saw my surgeon this morning, and to my pleasant surprise, he will not be doing surgery on my foot tomorrow like I was anticipating. yippee! Having my foot elevated, along with new antibiotics, seems to be improving the infection. Another week of doing what I've been doing since Friday and all should be good ... at least it better be! It's been a long haul ... as my original surgery was nine weeks ago and I NEED to be at my job.

I was able to hand sketch this card, then assemble it within a very short time period last night. I get scolded at the mention of doing any hard core stamping! LOL! I just had to tackle Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #02 this week. I used the new Loop to Loop Rub-Ons and Hand Drawn Designer Paper from the Level Three Hostess Bundle, Hand Drawn.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this situation .... the new catalog states that the coordinating colors for the Hand Drawn Designer Paper are Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, and Basic Gray. I hold Old Olive up to this "happy birthday" paper and my eyes say it doesn't match! I see Certainly Celery! Does anyone else?
RECIPE
Images: Loop to Loop Rub-Ons from Hand Drawn Bundle
Paper: Hand Drawn DP, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White CS
Embellishments: Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Scallop Border Punch, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat Pack
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

iPICKS, Week Eleven

Long time, no see! Unfortunately, there's been no stamping going on in my studio this week. As most of you know, I had surgery on my foot at Thanksgiving time, and I've been trying to get rid of an infection for several weeks. The infection doesn't seem to be getting any better so I've been off my feet as much as possible since Thursday night. I am praying that by keeping my foot up and staying off of it, I can avoid another surgery to clean out the infection that is scheduled for Wednesday. Oh, to be able to walk normal again! No dangling my foot from a chair while stamping, and no work ... but thank goodness for my daughter's laptop! Thanks for all the sweet comments you left on my last post!!!

Onto iPICKS where I post a selection of my favorite cards and projects found during my blurfing (blog surfing) and SCS stalking for the week. There's no formal rules or guidelines ... just inspiring projects that catch my eye, clever ideas, and exceptional designs. These are projects that inspire me and I hope they inspire you too! Here's my iPICKS for Week Eleven ...

Kerri's CASEing Lori Card (Cards By Kerri).

Chat's Butterflies are Free Card and Just Because Card (Me, My Stamps and I).

Lisa Brown's A Modern Edge Card (Ink and Inspirations).

Gretchen Clark's Valentine Week Day 4 Card and Valentine Week Day 5 Card (This 'n That).

Carrie Rhoades' A Cute Valentine Project (Carrie Stamps).

Jennifer Meyer's Happy Hellos Card (Jennifer's Sweet Designs).

Silke's Follow Your Heart Card (My Life).

Laurie Froehlich's Filigree Envelope Hearts Card (Inspired Designs).

Lynn Put's 4 Hearts Basket and Anniversary Challenge (The Queen's Scene).

Mary Elliott's A Loving Challenge Project (Everyday Elliott).

Dena Rekow's Fashionista Purse Stationery Set and 14 Ways I Love You Project (A Little Piece of Art Stampers).

Wendy's Love You Much Card and New Parisian Breeze Card (It's All About Stamping!).

Becky Carafa's Have a Sweet Day! Card (the lakeshore stamper).

Donna Centamore's Silly Bird Card (Butternut Sage Designs).

LeAnne's Raspberry Tart Card ... scroll down to the end of the post (Wee Inklings).

Becca's You Are In My Thoughts Card (Amazing Paper Grace).

Kelly Lunceford's Stamping 180 Card, Vintage Songbirds Card, and Season of Friendship Card (Flutter by atomicbutterfly).

Thanks for stopping by!

I'M IN PRINT!

If you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, you may have received your Stampin' Success demonstrator publication today - or will in the near future. This is my card that won the December 2008 Wow! Art File Contest, and appears on page 30 of the February '09 Stampin Success. What fun it was to see my artwork printed!

If you're wondering why my project is the only one without an artist photograph, there was a mix-up in communication and Stampin' Up! has been gracious enough to offer to publish my photo in next month's Stampin' Success.

You can see more details about this card HERE in my original post.

My apologies in advance for my lack of original artwork this week ... I'm again having issues with my foot and need to keep it up in the evenings after working all day. Unfortunately, my doctor and husband don't think sitting stamping is the same as "feet up"!

HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

Next weekend, my Grandma turns 90 years old!!! Thanks to her, her mother and aunts, I have really good genes for living a long life. They have all lived well into their 90's and one aunt into her 100's! I don't know if this card is quite special enough for Grandma's 90th but I gave it my best shot. In the photo, my sentiment looks crooked but doesn't IRL ... and I'm thinking I should have made the checked dp piece more narrow.

What I DO like about this card is that it uses a sketch from one of my favorite stamping artists, Karen Giron, the sweetest thing. This is her first Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I also do like my addition of the leaves for the felt flowers. I created those by punching Kiwi Kiss CS with the 5-Petal Flower Punch, then scoring down the center of each petal and cutting each petal off. The scored line gives just a little added depth.
RECIPE
Stamps: On Your Birthday
Paper: Bella Rose DP, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip
Embellishments: Flower Fusion Too, Button Bouquet, Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon
Tools: 5-Petal Flower Punch
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

iPICKS, Week Ten

HOW ABOUT THEM ARIZONA CARDINALS?!!!! OH YEAH, WE'RE GOIN' TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!! My husband and I had our first date at an Arizona Cardinal football game in 1988. We won that game too! Today's game was super exciting! ... great game to watch!

Welcome to iPICKS where I post a selection of my favorite cards and projects found during my blurfing (blog surfing) and SCS stalking for the week. There's no formal rules or guidelines ... just inspiring projects that catch my eye, clever ideas, and exceptional designs. These are projects that inspire me and I hope they inspire you too! Here's my iPICKS for Week Ten ...

Dawn McVey's You Are My Sunshine Card (My Favorite Things).

Chat's Regal Baja Flair Card and Scallop Flower Card (Me, My Stamps and I).

Sally Jercha's Super Cute Bag (Sally's Stamping Creations).

Brooke's Cinema Saturday Challenge Project (Designs by Brooke).

sassybee's I Dig You giftable (sassybee on SCS).

Joanne B's Lovely Heart - High Contrast Card (...just a little something...).

Emily Weems' Stamp Something Challenge Card (Stamping Expressions).

Dawn Easton's Happy Heart Day Card (Treasure Oiler Designz).

Jenn D's Retro Birthday Card (Stamp Your Heart Out).

Kari's Pink Polka Dot Dress Card (Dragonfly Impressions).

Ilina Crouse's Flower Tote and Notecards (My Creations).

Vicki's Petal Pizazz Card (It's A Stamp Thing).

STAMPER'S SHOWCASE and ANOTHER AWARD

Thanks to a heads up from Vera and Jenn, I discovered that this card had made it to Stamper's Showcase this morning. (Stamper's Showcase is a page on the Stampin' Up! website devoted to demonstrator artwork). Their photo shows a smashed ribbon ... please note - that is not the intent of the artist! LOL! You can see all the details for this card in this post on my blog. Edited to Add: I cannot provide a link to Stamper's Showcase, as it is only accessible to active SU Demonstrators, and each SU Demo requires a password to access the site.

Last night, it was brought to my attention by Shelley Germann, Stampin' Garden that I had forgotten this wonderful award from Karen Rogers, The INKredible Journey. Thanks, Karen!

Thanks to all my readers and blogging friends who look after me by bringing things like this to my attention!!!! I appreciate it and all the awesome awards! Sorry for not passing the awards along ... I just don't have time and feel that I'm doing really good getting them posted in the first place. So, feel free to consider yourself the recipient of this award or any others in my previous post.

GO CARDINALS !!!!!!!!!!!

RAKS from LORRI, LAURA, and CORI ... and some AWARDS

This back to work business sure has put a crimp in my creative time this week! I'm so glad it's a three day weekend! Today, I spent the day cleaning house and doing laundry. Tomorrow, we'll be celebrating with friends & family at an Arizona Cardinals playoff party! (I honestly never thought I'd see the day!). I'm going to try to get some stamping time in somewhere ... I'm having major withdrawals!

In the meantime, I'd like to share some wonderful RAKs I've received from some special friends this week ....

from Lorri Heiling, Confessions of a Stamping Addict
from Laura Fredrickson, Scrapnextras ...from Cori Solorzano, Just Scrappin' & Stampin' ...I've also had the honor of receiving some awesome blog awards from some fellow bloggers ...
from Karen Motz, Paper Playhouse











from Corie, Creations by Corie










from Debbie Pamment, Debbie P's Place





from Shelley German, Stampin' Garden, Amy Sheffer, Pickled Paper Designs, and Chat, Me, My Stamps and I

LOOP TO LOOP HAND DRAWN BIRTHDAY

I liked Lauren Meader's Saturday Sketch #19 so much that I decided to use it again. See my first card using this sketch HERE. I used the NEW Hand Drawn Designer Paper and Loop to Loop Rub-Ons from the Level Three Hand Drawn Bundle in the NEW Spring-Summer '09 Idea Book & Catalog.RECIPE
Stamps: On Your Birthday
Paper: Hand Drawn Designer Paper from Hand Drawn Bundle (Level 3 Hostess), Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red, and Baja Breeze CS
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Embellishments: Certainly Celery Brads, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Loop to Loop Rub-Ons from Hand Drawn Bundle (Level 3 Hostess).
Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Word Window Punch
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

PERSONAL FAVORITES from 2008, Part Two

Yesterday, I shared a few of my favorite projects from 2008. Here is Part Two ...

PERSONAL FAVORITES from 2008, Part One

Going back to work today went well. I was pleasantly surprised at how accommodating the staff was to my needs by changing schedules to keep my walking at a minimum. I am truly blessed to work with some really great people, and oh was it ever fun to see the kids again!!! I'm certainly taking it easy tonight with my feet up.

Some of my fellow bloggers have been posting their favorite projects from each month of 2008 ... a year in review. Sounded like fun, so I decided to try too! I didn't go by month ... this is part one of my personal favorites from 2008. Come back tomorrow for part two!Thanks for looking!