Gifties~~

I am headed to San Diego this weekend for my daughters baby shower! Can't wait! I made the gifties for the shower games, and I think they are pretty stinkin' cute! I hope the winners enjoy them. I only photographed two of the four for you. Call me lazy-----

The first one uses retired Bella Rose DSP from last years catalog. If you want to see how I covered the spiral notebooks, there is a link in a previous post on how to do that. The three inch pillar candles came from Wally World and my LSS.

The second one uses the Cottage Wall DSP from this year. It is gorgeous paper! All SU DSP is two sided, making matching and coordinating a snap! I love it.....I am officially a DSP junkie! Some of the ribbon is SU and some is not, but you want the ribbon to be a little funky anyway!

These gifts come together easily and inexpensively. You should make one soon! Have a great weekend.......I know I will!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Snow delay~~

Well friends......I posted this last card on Wednesday, and then Thursday afternoon we lost power here due to the storm! The snow and winds always prove disastrous here in the woods with snapped trees taking out power lines and so on. We were without power Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then finally back on today (Sunday)! Thank you Lord for the APS workers who were out in the freezing weather working on our behalf! We appreciate you!

Life has taken me and my family in an interesting direction, and as time permits I will fill you in. In the meantime, I will try to resume stamping (if my creativity ever returns) and get some things posted for your viewing pleasure!

Hugs to all~~

Shelli

Vintage Vase~~

Things in my life have been so hectic lately, and my friends have been so good! I wanted to make a card, and I had about 20 minutes to do it. This card came together fast......because my inspiration was straightforward and cute! HERE is an adorable card my my friend Gretchen......yeah, I am shameless!

I started with Kraft CS by SU and pulled out some Vintage Violet, which was an in color from a few years ago. The stamps are PTI, and the vase was made with the Ornament Punch by SU. I trimmed off the pointy part to create the vase, and popped it up with Dimensionals. The ink is Always Artichoke, and the buttons are from my LSS. Lastly is the Vintage Violet ribbon, also retired from years ago. You could easily make this with any color combo.

I noticed in the photo that the ribbon is crooked......blast! I did fix it before I gave it away though!

Only 7 weeks until my grandson makes his way into the world! We are counting the days! Then the distance from AZ to San Diego will feel like 1000 miles.........but I will make the drive often! His shower is at the end of the month so I will be heading out for a quick visit. (Imagine me clapping my hands together quickly and grinning*)

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Trees of Friendship~~

I know this totally looks like a Valentine card, but it really didn't start out that way. I saw a card similar to this somewhere, so here is my version!

I used the tree trunk from Trendy Trees and the tiny heart is from Cheep Talk! The grass you see is an ancient stamp I picked up easily 10 years ago at a flea market for like .50! (don't hate me) That is SU's eyelet border punch and ribbon. The greeting stamp I picked up in the $1 bin at my LSS the other day. Add some Real Red and Pretty in Pink CS and ta-da!

We are expecting some pretty harsh weather this week. Yikes. Maybe that means I will have more stamp time, maybe not. We will see, but I need a good excuse to bury myself in my craft room!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Tent Topper~~

Today's lovely is called a Tent Topper card. The card base is a 4 1/4 inch square and the circle image pops up to fill up the rest of the normal size. The red ribbon here is what started this project. I got it on something at Christmas, and I thought it was beautiful ribbon, that I saved it to put on a card. I adore the black white red color combo, and I wear those colors often as well. The flower image is from Fifth Ave. Floral. The DSP is newly ret. from the last Holiday Mini. I used my 3" scallop circle from Marvy and the 2 1/2 inch circle as well to create the topper. Sadly, the photo doesn't show how truly pretty the glitter is over the red marker on the flower image. I first colored the stems with Real Red Marker and after that dried a while, I carefully applied 2 Way Glue and added Dazzling Diamonds (SU) glitter. Lastly I paper pierced the scallops and adhered! Ta-Da!

A card like this requires a layer of a lighter color CS on the inside to allow for writing the greeting. Just cut your CS 1/8 or 1/4 inch smaller than the base and then decorate as you wish!

Speaking of As You Wish..........who has seen The Princess Bride? Do you love it? We do. We usually watch it once a year and quote it the whole time as we go! So fun! "Inconceivable"!!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

a bit of humor~~

In leiu of a card, I thought I would share a bit of humor with you today! I will be back to stamping soon!


The economy is so bad that:

I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico ..

Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.

Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.

The Mafia is laying off judges.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

More Vogue~~

More shameless CASeing for you today! HERE is my inspiration card. I used Real Red and white CS, plus Real Red and Chocolate Chip inks. The edge punch is by SU and the button and ribbon came from my LSS! Pretty straightforward!

I had a pretty good weekend. I hope you did too! No snow predicted here for at least a week, so that makes me super happy! Last time we had a big storm we lost power for three days.....not fun!

Come back tomorrow for a Tent Topper Card! See ya then~~

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Vintage Vogue~~

Well girls, you have probably noticed my Mojo has gone on vacation! Hence the lack of posts the last couple weeks. The best way for me to get my Mojo back, is to hop on Splitcoast and grab some idea's! Sometimes I get inspired and come up with my own cards and sometimes I shamelessly copy! Today was a shameless copy kinda day!

I pulled out a new set, Vintage Vogue, in the new style, clear mount! The clear mount is a fantastic way to go! I decided to show you several cards, done each a little differently. The first one is pretty straight forward and simple. The inks and CS I used are Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Summer Sun. It is hard to see clearly, but the brad in the center of the Summer Sun flower has a rhinestone brad that is actually a great shade of purple that coordinates nicely with the Razzleberry. It is also popped up with a couple dimensional's. I was going for elegant and simple.....quick and easy! I am very pleased with the results!

This one is essentially the same card, CASed from HERE. On this one you can see, it is layered up a bit more and the colors are fantastic! I used the same two inks, but changed up the yellow for Yo-Yo-Yellow hen I realized I was out of Summer Sun CS. See what a difference a little layering makes? I still like the first one a lot, but this one just has "more" to it!

Here is yet a third, exactly the same layout, except this time I used Regal Rose, Soft Suede and Old Olive. The rhinestone here is a glued on one, not a brad. I also thought of trying a color combo with blue for the flower, but I got tired and ran out of steam! Maybe another day!

I am feeling my Mojo sneaking up on me again, so hopefully I will be able to continue creating for ya! I know exactly where this last card is going.......have you mailed a paper hug this week? Just Do It!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Baby Shower~~

As most of you may know, my oldest daughter and her hubby are expecting their first child in March! I was asked to make the shower invitations a while back. Just after being asked, SU came out with the Fox and Friends set which match perfectly with my new little grandson's nursery theme! So naturally I pre-ordered so I could get them in time to make these!

I used glossy CS to stamp the little animals with to make the colors pop out a little more. I used Bashful, Celery and Cocoa inks for the animals. I used the fancy new label punch for the greeting, but the greeting itself is ancient. I picked it up years ago at a rummage sale for .50 cents! I paper pierced the corners for some dimension. The little tag is popped up with a Dimensional to keep it in place but still give the idea of a loose tag. The rest is easy to see I think.

My grandson will be named Logan and he is due in 9 weeks! My arms can't wait to hold the little guy! My DH and I just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary this week! What a wonderful time we had! We were able to get away for a couple days and it was fantastic! Sadly, I did not make him a card. Can you believe it? After dealing with food poisoning for one of my other daughters all weekend and week, I guess I kinda ran out of time......and energy! I think he still loves me though, so it will be okay! I am blessed to have such a great hubby!

So, my new years resolution is the same this year as it was last year. To mail out birthday cards and gifts ON TIME! Last year I did great until summer, which is typically my busiest time with camp. But I am hoping to do better this year. What is yours?

Hugs til next time----

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli