2007 April »

What a Mess!

Uncategorized 14 Responses »

Apr 302007

So this is the mess that I have come home to! I think there won’t be any stamping today until I get some things cleaned up!

I have a doctors appointment this morning and then I think I need to hit the studio and do a little clean — what do you think? You’ll notice that stack of unpaid bills up there, they HAVE to be done today or it just might lead to trouble with DH. The bulletin board fell off the garage door for the third straight time and I flung on my paper cutters before I left and then just kept adding things on top. Need to unpaid from the trip and get some things organized. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Uncategorized 15 Responses »

Apr 292007

Wow what an exciting weekend. The Stampin’ and Pamperin’ Retreat in Cincinnati was so much fun. I really thought when I headed out Friday afternoon that I wasn’t going to be able to stay the entire weekend. After a phone call home Saturday morning, I was given the green light to stay. So glad that I was able to! I met some of the most interesting women, laughed, told stories and just had a marvelous time.

Since I arrived a little earlier than expected on Friday, I had a quick power nap and then headed out to explore the hotel, The Hilton Netherlands. I’m sorry to report that I really missed a lot in the hotel and totally missed the shopping area, Carew Tower. It just means that I might have to make another trip back. I headed back up to my room, and as my luck would have it, my room key did not work. Like a fool, I had placed the card in my wallet next to a credit card – yep demagnitized. I headed back to the lobby to have my room key reset and there, standing in front of me was this purse. A clear stamping purse with ATCs in the pockets. I knew I had seen that purse before and gave out a big shout – for sure, none other than JanTink was checking in. How much fun was this that the first person I got to meet was JanTink and her friend Sharon, scstamper on SCS.

Friday night started off at 7:00 with a free stamp. When I got to registration, I was informed almost immediately that I had a stalker inside. Someone was already asking if I had registered. I knew immediately who it was – my fellow Challenge Chaser, Kris (krazystamper).

When I looked across the room, I noticed JanTink on the other side with her SCS shirt on. Well guess who had on the same shirt – had to get that picture!

As we stamped, Julia Roberts was playing on the DVD and pizza was set up in the back for our noshing pleasure. Of course, true to stampers, there was on most of the tables. It was so much fun to be able to walk among the tables, see what everyone was making (most were finishing up their swaps for the next day) and meet some new friends. The evening ended about 12:30 am and we headed off to bed.

Saturday were the demos and shoebox swap. Needless to say, I had to follow Janine and those were some pretty big shoes to follow. She was funny and totally delightful while she showed us many inventive ways to use punches. I wasn’t quite as prepared as Janine – I flew by the seat of my pants, told them stories about how I became Bad Sherry, and did show the group how to use fusible webbing (or Wonder Under) and EP to make backgrounds.

We enjoyed a great lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery. Of course, in a walk over we passed this great fountain. I’m sure when you view the pictures, you’ll know that I pretty much couldn’t contain BAD self.

The second half of the day was the shoebox swap. Now I had not planned on spending the second half of the day. Saturday was Senior Prom and I was planning on heading home after lunch. But since my plans had changed, I went back to the hotel after lunch along with the group. Since I had not planning on participating, my plans were to walk around and enjoy the fellowship of my fellow stampers. I had prepared nothing for the swap and didn’t feel that I should participate. The girls put the kabosh on that right away and absolutely insisted that I participate – after all, I was a special guest right. I truly felt bad and left a message at my spot that anyone wishing to receive a card made by me in lieu of the swap to please sign their name and address. That worked out okay, I have 30 cards to make and mail, and am so glad that I stayed for the whole day! I can’t wait to participate in my next SCS gathering – so much fun!!!!

Me with our hostesses, Sarah (Sarabeth) and Denise (MI2SUNS)

Me with Sharon (scstamper)

It's Stampin' and Pamperin' Time!

Uncategorized 6 Responses »

Apr 272007

No stamping today! I’m headed over to Cincinnati for the Splitcoast Stampin’ and Pamperin’ Retreat. I’m really looking forward to meeting some of my SCS buds, and hope to have some pictures for you when I return. Tonight is a free stamp night with chick flicks, pizza and plenty of stamping. Tomorrow JanTink and I will be giving our demos, we’ll all do lunch and then the mega shoebox swap. Hope everyone has a great day!

The River

Challenges, Papertrey, Sewing/Stitching, Techniques 12 Responses »

Apr 262007

After I posted yesterday’s card, I continued to play with the Green Thumb set and chalk inks. I loved the results and every time I would put a color combination together, I was thinking of all the flowers that my mother had at the river. She would start planting now, and always had these huge flower pots overflowing with beautiful flowers. If it stood still and you could put dirt in it, she would. There were always two whiskey barrels on either side of the stairs leading down to the docks, which were planted with a dracaena in the middle and then red and white impatiens all around. Under the river birches, liriope outlines the bed, hostas up to your knees and always heart shaped begonias in pots. On the decks, pots upon pots of red and white geraniums, some impatiens thrown in for the fun of it, and hummingbird feeders. On the deck off the master bedroom, was a lattice piece that held clematis, more pots in front with impatiens and caladiums. There were twinkle lights that would come on at dusk and a plague that some dear friends gave her when my dad passed away, always sat off to one side. There were also three more hummingbird feeders on this deck. My mother has moved now, and is in a garden home. She has a huge patio that wraps all around her home and is enclosed by brick walls. It will be a fabulous garden area for her when she gets started. There is a lot to pull out and replace, plenty of area for her existing pots and outdoor furniture. I can’t wait to see what she does with the new place to turn it into her garden oasis. Of course, she still owns the river house, is in the process of cleaning out my dad and grandfather’s tools and junk from the sheds and basement, with the intent of selling. She has worked at the river a few days over the last week, actually stayed over the weekend, and my sister said that mom told her she might not sell. It would be so nice in the summer. Yep – more work! Which is why she bought a new home and moved, so she wouldn’t have all the steps, the huge yard to maintain, and the river bank to keep clean. I’m sure we will all miss the river! The view is magnificent, it’s quiet and we had fabulous family get togethers there. We will all remember the days we played on the wave runners, took boat rides, and just swam around and floated. My girls grew up there. They are river rats. They had water fights with their granddad, laughed and had fun! My dad made the river special for all us! The night he passed away, there was a big storm, thunder, lightening, blowing rain. When the storm passed, and my mother and I were sitting on the screened in porch having coffee and baileys, the sun came out and the river was red. I’m sure it’s something we will never see again in our lifetime. The river was a magical place!

Today’s card is for the Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoast. The object of the challenge today is to use Orchid Opulence. I made this card for mom for Mother’s Day – remembering her flowers, the river and my dad! Once again, I used Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink. The flower pot was inked in Close to Cocoa and then rocked a little in Mellow Moss. The flowers were stamped in Orchid Opulence, Pixie Pink and Brocade Blue. The leaves and stems were stamped in Certainly Celery. In the center of each flower I added just a drop of Tulip Crystal Sparkles Glitter paint. Instead of drawing doodles or piercing around the flowers, I decided to sew a line of stitching on the sewing machine. The DP is SU Just Delightful simply scrappin’, which was also sewn on the sewing machine.

Stamps: Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Pixie Pink, Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss

Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, simply scrappin’ Just Delightful

Accessories: Ribbon, Brads, Sewing Machine, Dimensionals, Tulip Crystal Sparkles Glitter Paint

It's BasicGrey Day!

Challenges, Papertrey, Sewing/Stitching, Techniques 9 Responses »

Apr 252007

Happy Wednesday! It’s a good day here, even though we are expecting some storms throughout the day. It’s also Sketch Challenge day on Splitcoast. I liked today’s sketch and it will probably be one you see me use more than once. It really shows off the background paper!

For today’s card I chose a new set of stamps, Green Thumb from Papertrey Ink. To try something a little different, I colored the stamps with markers and then stamped them onto Whisper White cardstock. I loved the look that it gave the flower pot, which then let me color in a tad bit of Mellow Moss to give the pot a semi-aged look. The stems, leaves and the sentiment were stamped inking the stamps from the ink pad. For the background papers, I chose Stella Ruby by BasicGrey. You just gotta love these papers! I cut the sizes that I wanted, then ran to the sewing machine (which I have now just keep set up on the kitchen desk) and sewed the paper to the background layer of cardstock. Both top panels are mounted on dimensionals to give some depth to the card.

Stamps: Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink

Paper: Stella Ruby by BasicGrey, Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, Whisper White

Ink: Ruby Red, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Really Rust, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Markers, Sewing Machine