CONTEST - CONTEST - CONTEST!!!!

Surely you have already seen my contest info in this post, but just in case you missed it, here is a recap:
It's time to say bye-bye to many Stampin' Up! stamp sets and accessories. I want YOU to EMAIL ME the top ten stamp sets you think will be retiring this year. The person that has the most correct sets on their list will win a $15 gift certificate (available thru me only) for Stampin' Up! products. I will also draw a name out of all of the entries to win a package of retired Designer Series Paper. (and c'mon, who doesn't LOVE paper???)

Alrighy - there you have it - start flipping thru your catalog and let me know what you think will be retiring. You have until Monday, May 31st at 10pm to email me your list. Contest is not open to other Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, or those outside the US.

Now, on with today's program:

Wedding season is upon us - I know well after those wedding invitations I just whipped up. Did I tell all of you that now I've designed their Thank You notes and programs? Such fun! It almost (ALMOST) makes me wish I could redo my wedding. To the same guy of course - well, for today. Depends on how crabby he'll be later today, then I may change my mind and want to trade him in. (He's really cranky this time of year when his allergies are in full swing. I don't blame him - he LOOKS miserable - and unfortunately, being a farmer, his job is 98% outside work!) Anyway - I thought I would whip up a wedding card:

What's the FIRST thing you notice? That really super duper bow??? Yep - I'm working it out!!! Someday's there are a few choice words that come out of my precious little mouth when I'm attempting those bows, but, I just keep on at it. I'll get it down to perfection and ease one of these days! And my customers think I'm good at knot tying - you gals just wait till I throw a bow in one of our stamp club projects!

What else is a little different for me??? Well, besides the purple paper! Why - of course - BLING!!!! I KNOW! Awesome - eh? I've never blinged a card before - and I'm thinking it's quite kewl!

To make this card even sweeter than it already is, I used that cutesy pinking hearts border punch - cha, cha, cha!!!

If you'd like to get your little mitts on this card - it's available for purchase on my Etsy shop - check out the link in the right hand side bar!~

Okey, dokey, that's all for today - don't forget to enter that contest!

I've been published!!!

Have you seen the latest copy of Card Creations??? It's chocked full of wonderfully creative cards, and one of them is MINE!!!! Go pick up a copy from the newsstand and check out the Valentine's section for this gem:

Pretty nifty - eh?

And hey - if you haven't already, check out yesterday's post for a new contest - you've got less than a week to enter!

Better late than never....

(this one's for you Tami!) ....I'm not always one to post what we create at my Stamp Clubs. I don't really know why, maybe because I want it to be exclusive to all of those that are in my clubs. And I know I certainly don't want to give away the projects before hand....I love a good surprise! But, it has been requested that I post what we did in Stamp Club by some of the members. This way, when they give away their projects, they have something to refer back to. So, I will begin posting our projects - starting with January. They will be under the Stamp Club Projects label on the right side of the blog for you to refer back to from here on out. And while Tami requested I do this some time ago, and I told her I would....it just got hung up on the back burner........like I said....better late than never!!!! {heart} you Tami!!!!
January was based less on technique and more on theme - an organizing theme....It was January, and you know, most of us make (and break) resolutions - organizing is one of the top resolutions made, next to weight loss. How many have given up on their resolutions already? It is March 2nd after all....The first little gem is a covered post it note. Great for sticking in your purse. Who doesn't have a piece of paper handy when needed???

One of the other things we did was cover a note pad - also suitable for a purse, but great for a desktop - and one that looks cute to boot.

To complete the ensemble, we made a birthday card (cuz we can always use a birthday card!). Plus, this whole little set would make an adorable birthday gift. But it would be wonderful for graduation too!

All of the DSP was from Thoroughly Modern, and we used the I {heart} Lists, Vintage Vogue and Well Scripted Stamp Sets. Just too cha-cha for words, wouldn't you say??? (a line from my all time favorite movie - do you know what it is???)

So there you have the projects we made in January! One of these days I'll get the Feb. items up. And since March is here already, well, I'll get March on here. Maybe before I get February done!!!!

Thanks for stopping all....

Money may not grow on trees....

....but hearts do! Before I get too far into this post, my son Will, who is almost 4, insisted that I put some of his creations on my blog. He usually wakes up from his nap and goes straight for my scrap drawer. I let him take whatever he wants and he goes to his table and cuts and glues and cuts and glues. He's always very proud of what he comes up with and of course I give him a ton of praise to help boost his ego. So, today he created the little top note Valentine on the left below. On the right is a gingerbread man that he made a couple of days ago and it just had to be in the photo too. He's a creative guy in the making....he didn't fall far from the tree!

And...then I have to show you the pheasants that are still coming around. Still 4 of them, and they are happy as can be because Andy is still out feeding them.

In this picture below, you have to notice the platform birdfeeder behind the pheasants - that stands about 5 feet high from the ground - it appears that about 3 foot of it is covered up by snow. If you look beyond that feeder, you can see that the drifts just keep going up and up from there. We think (but haven't gone out to confirm) those drifts reach a peak of about 12 ft from the ground. I can't wait until Sunday and Monday when it's warmer - I'm gonna be out taking some photos of our awesome drifts.

Oh, and where those pheasants are standing - somewhere under there are some Blue Spruce trees....

Okay, on with the show! Here's creativity in progress:

If you notice over on the right side of my blog, I've opened an Etsy Shop!!!! You can click over there to get there or go to: http://stampedsilly.etsy.com For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it's a website that sells only handcrafted and vintage items. You can find all sorts of great things over there, and I think it's great to support crafters - handmade is so much better than mass produced......
Here's the finished product:

Cute - huh.....and see hearts DO grow on trees! For those of you that are in the Denison, IA area, these will also be for sale at Splurge! in uptown Denison - across from the courthouse.

Here's a detail shot:

And here's the same card, I just swapped out the DSP.

And a detail shot of that one:

FYI - I love the new Satin Ribbon - it is just SO easy to work with. Oh, and those clear mount stamps - phew....they are lifesavers! I just don't see much for wood mounted stamps in my future....poor things!

Okay - time to go. Enjoy your day - the sun will come out tomorrow, and it'll be about 50 degrees warmer!!! (that is really something - huh?? )

Poppy Love

that's right - POPPY love. Not puppy love. I've been seeing these little flowers all over, and I love them. I need to perfect them quite a bit, but still, I really like them.
And, well, my ric rak is a little off proportion wise, but it's what I had....I'm on the hunt for something new there.....

Here's a detail shot. Don't be suprised to see more of these from me - I just think they are adorable. And my mother in-law really likes poppies too, so I need to dream up a card for her upcoming birthday!

So, other than being snowed in, or really drifted in - I've been stamping like mad, and have lots of new things to show you! I'll warn you tho - Cupid is still in my pocket, and I don't think he's going anywhere for a while. I haven't been this into Valentine's ever - wonder what's gotten into me? Maybe it's all of those pregnancy hormones...I just don't know. And, maybe I'm making up for those first 12 weeks when I just couldn't do ANYTHING!

Well, peeps - I'll be back with more for you to drool over.....

Jen