Back from NYC and New Catalogue!

Good Evening! The kids and I had a fabulous time in NYC. We visited with my Mom and step - Dad and enjoyed the NY Hall of Science. We hit the M&M's, Hershey and Lego store!! It was HOT and HUMID but didn't slow us down too much. The boys bought water guns to cool themselves off which was a bonus in their books. I can't believe it's July 1st tomorrow and the start of a new Stampin' Up! catalogue. WOW!! I love all the new products and can't wait to get my hands on some of the great stamp sets that will be available. Don't forget about my Open House next Wed. If you haven't RSVP'd, I have about 3 spots left. It's a free event with a mega garage sale!! Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Father's Day On Board Scrapbook

Father's Day is just around the corner and last weekend I held a kids' class so they could make this cute book. It was really fun to watch them creating their masterpieces. I just love these Stampin' Up! On Board books. They are inexpensive and are so easy to customize. We used some designer paper, punches, stamps and brads. I hope all the Dads love their memory book!!

Celebrating Anniversaries

Yesterday, my wonderful hubby and I celebrated 17 years of marriage. Where did the years go? It's been a roller coaster ride but have to say most of the times have been "ups"! We were able to celebrate last night with friends who were celebrating 20 years of being together (married for 11 of them). Tonight my dear friend Jen came over and I helped her design and assemble some little cards to put on the tables at her grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary! We had a great time and it was really fun to work together. Here's a pic and think these are such a great idea to get people mingling around at the tables as they read the definitions on the cards. "Define Your Life" is one of my favourite stamp sets and I use it often on cards and scrapbook pages. We used So Saffron, Night of Navy and Whisper White to give a classic look. Enjoy!

I'm back!!

My apologies for being away (again) for so long! Man, life gets busy around here at times. We just got back from Florida and I really hope (again) to do more posting in the weeks to come. Tune in tomorrow for the Last Chance List which will be posted. There are many things that we will be saying good-bye to and I will be placing an order at noon on June 2nd if there is anything you can't live without! For now, here's a few pics from our trip......

I scream, you scream, we all scream...

...for new stamp sets!! I just love this new Sweet Scoops set (available as of May 1st in both clear and wood mount). Who doesn't love a scoop of ice cream, with sprinkles of course, on a hot summer day. I can see using this set a lot on my summer birthday cards and scrapbook pages. I used Melon Mambo as my card base and stamped the scoops in Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Old Olive. The sprinkles are done with Chocolate Chip. YUMMY!! I used the 1 1/4 inch square punch and lined them up on a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. This is a quick and easy card that you will see in an upcoming class. Stay tuned for another Sneak Peek of the Summer Mini Catalogue tomorrow.

Colour Renovation

Stampin' Up! has announced they are doing a colour renovation effective in the new catalogue which will be released on July 1st. Some colours will be retiring, some will be coming back from former In Colours and some will be brand new! I am so excited for this change and think you will love how the colours will all work together. I just received in the mail today, a sample of the five new permanent colours. They are simply gorgeous and I can hardly wait to own them in ink, paper, ribbons etc. Join me in July for my Open House (date to be determined) to use some of the new colours and purchase some of my retired ones (along with stamps and other accessories).

We are the champions!

Well there's been a lot of excitement around here with Ben's hockey team's win last night! How awesome for the team that went into the playoffs in last place to turn it all around and win the finals. We are so proud of all of the kids. They improved tremendously over the season. The celebration will continue on Sunday with the awards lunch. Way to go C-Force! Thanks for an entertaining hockey season.

Decor Elements

Oh my goodness...has it really been two months since I posted! Sale A Bration has kept me very busy as well as some house projects. We have been painting and also re-did our powder room. We always had a pedestal sink and it drove me nuts. There was nowhere for soap or to store extra towels and toilet paper. Now I have a beautiful cabinet, new light and a fantastic Decor Elements piece on my wall. I was so nervous to put it up but it was easy and looks so awesome. Now I have plans to put them up in a few other rooms. I love that Stampin' Up! has ventured into home decor and hope you will experiment with some of the great designs that are available.

Happy Heart Month

One more sleep until Valentine's! Here's my attempt at decorating the house for this day of hearts. Peter and I made this using the Big Shot and various Stampin' Up! punches. I got the idea from my monthly demonstrator magazine...just one of the many perks of being a demo!! We used Real Red, Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose as well as the beautiful Sending Love Designer Paper. It was a quick and simple project and looks pretty nice on my door.

Stamp A Stack

Well, February really snuck up on me! I guess I've just been super busy and February looks to continue the trend. Sale-A-Bration is in full swing. If you haven't taken advantage of this awesome deal, don't delay. Place your $65 order soon and you'll get something from the SAB catty for free. How great is that? I just love FREE!! I will be holding two Stamp-A-Stacks for general birthday/baby/kids cards. The first is Thursday, February 25th @ 7pm and the second is March 13th @ 1pm. Please let me know if you are interested and I will email you the cards to choose from. This class is a great way to have a little stash of cards on hand for those "whoops, I forgot or ran out of time or that birthday at the start of the month that always gets forgotten" moments. Here are a few of the cards you can make but I will email you all of them if you'd like to attend. Sorry the pics aren't great. I need to come up with a better way to photo them.

Calendar Scrap Book Pages

Happy Monday to You! I thought I'd share a few of the pages I did for my Mom's 2010 calendar. She loves all the photos of the boys and it's great that at the end of the year we can put them all in an album and she has a nice scrapbook to show off to everyone. I enjoy making it every year but of course may have to try a My Digital Sudio calendar for this Christmas. I hope you have a creative week.

Another Valentine's Card

Happy Tuesday!! Here's another quick and simple card for Valentine's Day. It uses the new Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dots impressions folder. This perfectly fits a card front which I love! The Small Heart punch is a great size and is in the new punch style. These are both in the Occasions Mini Catty. The border punch is again that lovely SAB freebie and the HVD saying is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. This stamp set covers every holiday you can think of and has quickly become my most used set! Enjoy your day and check back soon for more card ideas.

SAB Freebies!!

Oh I just love this card! The pink and brown is so "me". This card was made using Pretty In Pink and Chocolate Chip cardstock. The punch is the Scallop Trim Border Punch that you can get for FREE with a $65 order until March 31st. Don't miss out on this as it's an awesome punch (value $22.95). The patterned paper is from the Occasions Mini Catty and is called Sending Love. One side has glittery patterns and the other is plain patterned. It's lovely!! The cutie owl is from Love Bandit. I tried to gather the new satin ribbon and am not sure if I like the result. I may have to play with that technique a bit more. It does use a lot of ribbon but for a few special cards it would be ok. I'll be back with more cards soon.

New Stamps!

How about a little "Love Bandit" to steal your heart? I am loving this new stamp set. I purchased this one in the clear mount and it's awesome. The Stampin' Up! clear blocks are similar to the wooden ones with an easy grip side. The stamps work as well as the wood mount ones and are much easier to store. You have to try these out for yourself. This card was easy to put together and think will go out to my nephew in a few weeks. Keep checking back as I will be posting more Valentine's in the next couple days. Enjoy the weekend!

It's time to Sale A Brate!!

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for a happy, healthy and creative 2010. Stampin' Up! has lots going on right now. Sale-A-Bration is underway which is always a wonderful opportunity to earn free products. Until March 31, when you purchase $65 in SU products you can choose a free stamp set, punch or paper pack from the SAB catalogue. You can view the catalogue online at www.stampinup.com or email me to arrange to get one from me. If you hostess a workshop during this time, you will also have the opportunity to earn more for free. I do have a few dates still available if you'd like to have a workshop in your home or mine. The Occasions Mini Catalogue is also available to order from until the end of April. This book is jam packed with Valentine, Easter and Mother's Day items. Stampin' Up! has introduced Clear Mount Rubber Stamps and they are awesome. I have been using them this week and loving them. They stamp like the wood mounted ones, are easy to position and store compactly. They are also cheaper which is a mega bonus in my books! The punch style has also changed to an easier to store version. I see a trend here. Join a stampers group, come to a class or just order some to try for yourself. Hope to see you soon.