So, I needed to come up with something for my "cousin" Ben and his upcoming wedding. (He's really my step-dad's cousin) I haven't actually seen their house, but I was told that the colors were neutral. I stuck pretty neutral, but needed some splash of color for this name frame that I came up with. I hope they like it. I'll have to miss the wedding and celebration due to another family obligation. (Weekend trip with Andy's side of the family - our annual family trip.) Please don't mind the finger prints in the first photo - and yes, I did wipe them off before they went in the gift bag!


The paper was from a retired Simply Scrappin' Kit - At Home. The kit now called Home Again is virtually the same - just new colors. I think I like the browns and greens better... just a personal opinion. I used the Taffy Alphabet and Taffy Numbers set, Hodgepodge Hardware in Antique Brass. (which btw, will retire in August - just a quick heads up and forewarning. I'm thinking that SU! will come out with a reconfigured Hodgepodge set more along the lines of the Styled Silver set that is found in the mini - *crossing fingers...and toes!!!*)



At first I wasn't overly excited with the way it turned out the way that I sometimes am after completing a project. You know, like when I crank my arm around so that I can pat myself on the back....but, after I saw it on the wall, I was much more impressed with myself than I was initially. Now I'm loving myself!

Card Swap - See what you could have had!!

Here are the cards that were received in the card swap. While only 5 participated, it was fun to see what was done. Want to join the next card swap? Email me and I'll put you on the list for the next swap! I apologize for the poor photo quality. I need a better lit area to photograph....*scratching head*.

Hold the Phone!

eScape with Stampin' Up!

Put down the phone, turn off the computer, and break free from the 'e'!
Remember when you got letters in your mailbox instead of your inbox? On June 25, 2008, Stampin' Up! is taking the day to unplug and unwind, and reconnect on a personal level with friends and loved ones through handmade cards. And we invite you to eScape with us throughout the month of June!
Reconnect with your "wireless network" by attending an eScape event or hosting one of your own! Take advantage of the 25 percent discount on select items in the eScape bundle to help you create that special message from the heart.
eScape Bundle (item 113700):
Description
Page Number
Price
Circle of Friendship stamp set
p. 143
$17.95
Love Notes assortment
p. 167
$8.95
Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad
p. 165
$5.25
Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon
p. 191
$7.95
Total (non-bundled)

$40.10
eScape Bundle price

$30.00
eScape in June! Contact me today for details about this exciting event.

Sneak Peak Promo!!!

Making the (fresh) cut!

Whether you're a customer or a hostess, June's sneak peek into the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog has something fresh and new just for you!

Customers:When you purchase the brand new, die-cut Fresh Cuts stamp set, add on the coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes* for only $5!

Hostesses:Host a $400 workshop during the month of June, and receive the Fresh Cuts stamp set and coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes FREE--over a $30 value--in addition to your regular hostess benefits!

Contact me for more details!

Don't send the search party out just yet!

I'm okay. I haven't been seriously injured, although I do have this little problem with my face right now, that's not holding me up from blogging. I really don't have a decent excuse, I've just been stinking busy. You know how it is. The weather turns warmer, and I want to enjoy it too. And that brings about a vegetable garden that needs planted and cared for, oh, and those pots of flowers that my husband says we don't really need. Yet, EVERY single year he makes the same comment about how glad he is that I planted some pots of flowers, it sure does add a lot to the surroundings. Oh, and there are the two boys of mine that require the majority of my attention. Well, and now that spring is here, you know, that means the Andy is in the fields a lot trying to grow some crops. Which means, once again, I've become a farm widow. But it's not like I haven't been stamping, and it's not like I think my work doesn't deserve any attention. I just can't get those darn pictures to upload and blog themselves. So, lucky you - here's a rundown of what I've made lately......





This fancy card, well, yeah, you guessed it, it's a Mother's Day card. I gave it to my mom, and made two of them, one for me to keep, and have apparently lost that one, because I have torn my house apart and can not find the darn thing!!! Anyway, I think it's pretty cool. I got the flower "o" idea from another blog, and for the life of me I can't remember where or I'd give that person the credit that she deserves. I just love how this turned out. Way too cool. I think it's Gojus, don't you? Here's another angle so you can see a bit better.




For the boo-tiful card, I used Certainly Celery as my base, stamped the "m" on Very Vanilla using Rose Red. Then I layered that on a piece of Soft Sky. Used Rose Red eyelets to embellish the corner, and also my photo corners punch and punched Soft Sky and Rose Red and layered those for further embellishments on the opposite corners. To create the flower, I used Soft Sky Double Stitched ribbon, and made 7 small loops and attached them together using Mini Glue Dots. I then attached that to a Rose Red button, again using glue dots. Oh yeah - I stamped the flower image in VersaMark on the Certainly Celery. The stamp set is a retired hostess set I believe. I don't have it labeled as the label got thrown away on accident. The card was really quite simple to put together and just so stunning if I do say so myself.....






These nifty monogram note cards are the gift that I made my mom for her special day. I use the Afternoon Tea Designer Series paper and went with it. Colors are Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, and Groovy Guava for the most part. The only stamped image is the "n". The rest is simply paper. I love them.






This is our Stamp Club creation - I need to work with my markers a little more. Maybe my two year old can instruct me on how to use them a little better. I wish I would have went with my Watercolor Crayons, because I do love them. But, I want to play with my markers more to see what I can do with them. I'd like to know more about these Copic Markers that I keep hearing about - I wonder what all of the rage is about. I like what I see people have done with them, so if you know the scoop, fill me in please!

Here is another Stamp Club project - we focused on the On Board items, since that is Stampin' Up's! big special this month. And special it is - I love working with the chipboard. It's so cool.


This card is done with a Sahara Sand base, and I used Blue Bayou and Close to Cocoa DS paper, and one piece of chipboard from On Board Accents. Stamps sets were All Holidays (Happy Fathers Day), Sporting (#1) and Amazing to Zany (you're). I drug the edges of the chipboard across my Close to Cocoa ink pad, then sponged more ink along the edges. Stamped the you're #1 in CtC, threaded it with a piece of (retired) 1/4" Choc. Chip grosgrain ribbon, voila - cool embellishment. And super simple to boot! Happy Fathers Day is stamped in Blue Bayou on Confetti White, then layered on textured Blue Bayou.

Last card we did was this one: I LOVE this one - love the colors, the layout, the star, the ribbon. Ahhh *swooning over self*!

This was quite simple. Covered Chipboard piece with a glue stick, pressed Jersey Shore DS paper on top, rubbed on a star from Anchored rub ons. Attached a strip of JS DS paper to bottom of Soft Sky base, slapped on a piece of pumpkin pie striped grosgrain, stamped my sentiment (from In the Stars set) Attached my star and off I went!!!


And, yes, I am slightly weird - I had to post my new friend, Mr. Rosebreasted Grosbeak. The Mrs. showed up too, but I wasn't able to photograph her. Every year we get a Rosebreasted Grosbeak at our feeder, but this isn't the same one as last year. I'm hoping that we'll get some more now. This guys seems younger, he's not as chunky as the one we had last year, and his chest marking is different. (yeah, I am really weird since I can recall what last years Grosbeak looked like!) Last year my Grosbeak didn't have that little stripe down his chest, it was all filled in red. I'm sure this guy is just a juvenile, and probably a newlywed at that!

Two posts, one day?

No, do not adjust your monitors. It really is true - I'm sending out back to back posts. Okay, I'll admit it - I had too much cake for dessert tonight, and it's kicking in a bit....yeah, you're right, a lot! It was better than sex cake - what can I say - I just HAD to have an extra big piece! So, I really just wanted to show you this card that I made for a wedding we went to last weekend....I used those new Carousel Notes that are in the Occassions Mini catty. You know those ones that at first I didn't like because they looked to femmy for me. Yeah, well, I got them and now you know what - I love them. And yes, they are pretty girly, but I am female and sometimes I like to be a little frilly when the mood strikes. Oh, mood, that's what must have done it to me, a mood swing....well, anyway, I think that for this card they worked out just purrrrrfectly!



I used my blender pens and ink pads to color in the dress, and then went over the top and highlighted some areas with two way glue and Dazzling Diamonds. Aren't they gojus??? Don't you just love it? Oh, the stamp set, yeah - I'm sorry - it's a retired hostess set...



And here I was being ingenius - I made the carousel note into an actual card. I cut out a circle with my Coluzzle Cutter and then scored just the top of it and attached it to the note card with a piece of sticky strip. I thought that was quite clever of me. What do you think??? Please, please, hold your applause!

Happy Birthday MOM!

Today is my mom's birthday. I won't reveal her age - she doesn't look her age, so you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you how old she really is. It's that Mary Kay that she's been using for eons...I can only hope that it works on me!!! If I could have, I would have made a batch of brownies and grabbed my Steele Magnolias movie and we would have sat down and watched that today. But, I had to work....We used to watch Steele Magnolias ALL the time - we even had it memorized for the most part, and honestly, I could probably still repeat it almost word for word. I still think one of the best lines that comes to mind right away: "Looks like two pigs, fightin' under a blanket" or, "That Jackson, he's one hanging man". Lord, I could go on and on. I always referred to my mother as Ouisa, who's best line might just have been, "I saw Drum Eatenton in the Piggly Wiggly and I smiled at the son of a bitch before I could help myself"! Damn, that's a good movie. Note to self: must watch real soon! Anyway, here's to you mom! Happy Birthday!!! And here's what I made my mom for her special day:



For this creation I used Porcelin Prints Designer Series Paper, Taffy Alphabet, Make It Count (Hostess Stamp Set), Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou Classic Stamp Pads, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou and Very Vanilla Cardstock. Frame from WalMart. Pretty darn cool - eh? *Patting self on back* Must make more of these. They are simple and quick and just so cool! Dontcha just love me!

Here is a framed sign that I made for my SIL. She recently bought her first house, and I wanted to give her something for it....I really think it turned out good. I used the Porcelin Prints Designer Series paper to create the background, and On Board Letter for the word home. This was such a quick and easy project - I think I need to make more! Groovy Huh!

They say it's your birthday!!!!

My niece Allana will be turning 6 in a couple of days. She likes girly things and it's fun to have a girl to create for - living in a male dominated household. I had a good time coming up with her gift - a lunch tin and a journal. We filled the tin with all kinds of markers and colored pencils for her to in turn create some goodies of her own. Nothing like firing up the creative juices of others!!! Here's what I came up with:






I just love all of the frilly colors and the spring feel that they have. The flower on the journal is really Groovy Guava, although it looks rusty in the photo. I did use clear embossing powder on it to give the chipboard a more shiny look. Also used Stampin' Up!'s new Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware. I don't use my Hardware enough, and now vow to get it out and use it. It's really an easy way to glam up anything. I'm such a hoarder - I've got the stuff, but feel like I need to save it for some reason. I do the same thing with wrapping paper and fabric. What is wrong with me??? I just need to let go - I really love the look once I use it.

Well, I hope you liked my new creations. Now I'm off to finish up a sign that I made for my sister in law for her new house. I'll post it in a bit!

A Good Egg

Oh, what fun I'm having with this stamp set!!! The little chic is so cute. I can't wait for Easter so that I can come up with some great scrapbook pages with this set. And once again - I'm loving the glitter!!! While home recovering from my surgery, I've been watching Ellen, and she is campaigning to BAN glitter. I shudder at the thought! If she could only get her hands on our Fine Cosmo Glitter, she would surely change her mind! Oh, Ellen, please see the light! It sparkles with glitter! Any-who, here are my latest creations:

Oh, sweet Appendix!

Well, I've been MIA for quite a few days now. My appendix didn't seem to want to cooperate with the rest of my body, and the doctors therefore decided that it was time to come out! And apparently, the thing didn't want to come out too terribly badly. They tried to remove it laproscopically, and got the camera inside of me and decided it wasn't going to work - so the next thing to do was just to cut about a 6 inch opening and take 'er out that way. That lead to a 3 night stay in the hospital, 26 staples and lots of pain!!! I'm back home and getting back at it. Took myself off of the pain killers - cuz I didn't like that feeling. It made me feel dizzy and drunk. Not a beer drunk mind you - a stupid, I didn't plan on feeling like this drunk! Now we'll just stick to Motrin, the pain killer of champions! I'm hoping to get into my craft room over the next two weeks and really get some things accomplished - so I better get off of this computer and get after it - huh!

Happy Valentines Day!

Here are the Valentines that I made for Will and Alex's day care buddies. I love them....Used Berry Bliss paper and Love Matters stamp set (retired) and Whimsical Alphabet (also retired ). I made fifteen of them. Also used the new cosmo glitter - I am in love!! This stuff rocks *applauds and the crowd goes wild* !!! Take a look will ya!

Recipe Book Class

I'll be hosting a Stamp Camp in April with a recipe box or book theme. The book will take on a look of something like this:

Please let me know if this is a Stamp Camp that you would like to attend. Contact me for more details, and I will be sure to post more information soon!

Scrapbook in a Morning

So, you’ve thought about making a scrapbook before. And you’ve thought some more. But you continue to make excuses as to why you haven’t started a scrapbook. You don’t have time, you don’t have a clue how to get started, and you aren’t creative enough. Blah, blah, blah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, then, listen up! I’ve got a great deal for you. In the matter of 2 to 3 hours, you can complete 20 - 6x6 scrapbook pages. You can leave them as is for a brag book, or later (when you do have more time) turn them into full size album pages – whether that be 8 ½x11 or 12x12. Yes, this really is attainable!

This is even great for you seasoned scrapbookers. It gets you started on several pages that you can easily adapt to your full size pages later.

Or maybe you’ve got an event to scrapbook, but not enough photos to do a full 12x12 book. A 6x6 brag book is the perfect solution. Here are some great things to make an event specific brag book:

v A family vacation
v Memories of a pet
v Baby’s first year
v A birthday party
v Photos of the grandkids for a special gift for a grandparent
v Photos of a graduate to give as a graduation gift

Here’s the scoop – the fee for this class is $45 and includes a Home Again Simply Scrappin’ Kit and a 6x6 Linen Album and, of course snacks. If you want to use a different Simply Scrappin’ Kit, let me know. You can find them in our online catalog at http://www.jenarkfeld.stampinup.net/ . I will also have multiple stamp sets and extra accessories available for your use. Sign up with a friend and take $5 off both of your fees!

Available dates:

March 28th, 2008 : 5:30pm – 8:30 pm RSVP and prepay by March 15th
March 29th, 2008 : 9:00am - Noon RSVP and prepay by March 15th

Contact me to register!

Jen Arkfeld
thearkfelds@fmctc.com

Designer Series Paper

Do you ever wonder what colors make up Stampin' Up!'s Designer paper?? Wonder no more - here's a list for you!


Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up! Color
Azure: Brilliant Blue, Very Vanilla
Bali Breeze: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Taken with Teal
Berry Bliss: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
East Coast Prep: More Mustard, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Ginger Blossom: Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, River Rock
Jersey Shore: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi
LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Notebook: Kraft, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Spring Break : Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky
Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, So Saffron
Spring Silhouettes: Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Western Sky: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Ruby Red, Soft Sky

Oh Superman!!!

Well, I may have been working on this layout for Will's Halloween page for weeks (yeah - I know I'm WAY behind - but who isn't!)- but in the end I think it turned out quite dandy! It was my first attempt with Stampin' Up's new Sticky Cut Letters and the Chunky Glitter - and what can I say but WOO-WHO!!! I love them! This was a really fun page to do and the glitter really gives it punch! It does help that Will is so darn cute - wouldn't he make a great Superman - so dashing and irresistable if I do say so myself. Any way - here's the page....

I used Kraft 12x12 paper, Real Red which I stamped stars in versamark for the background, layered that with Summer Sun, the Superman title is Big Deal Alphabet in Brilliant Blue on Whisper White and cut out, with the addition of the star from Sticky Cuts. The bottom border is the stars wheel in Brilliant Blue and I added Red Chunky Glitter using my Crystal Effects. Too cool - huh! Hope you like it!

OMG!!! My very first blog!

Wow - lets see how this is going to work.

It snowed for, well what seems like the 95th day in a row. Not a lot of snow, just a nice dusting today. Makes me want to go home and stamp the day away. I have plenty of ideas circulating in my head, I just need the time to sit down and put ink to paper. Like 6 weeks worth of non-stop stamping. That should get me somewhere. No interruptions, well, except for the occassional bits of chocolate or ice cream. Hmm, I do live in a dream world, don't I!