A cool site

I came across this blog a few days ago. I emailed the gal who runs it and asked to have my blog and demo website added to the list. So I'm there! There are lots of really cool blogs to explore.
http://demosites.blogspot.com/
I could literally spend hours surfing all the blogs on this list. Lots of inspiration to be found!
And here's a link to Kathleen's personal blog: www.stampjourney.com
In other news, I'm getting my demo pre-order together for the Holiday Mini. Demo's can place pre-oders begining Monday....there are way too many things I want! I spent a good portion of today reorganizing my stamp room. I got one of those Closet Maid 9 hole cubbies to put my ever growing collection of stamps on. I've already outgrown the space I had for those! I'm hoping to spend some time in my stamp room actually stamping tomorrow.

Baby card

Here is the baby card I was working on. I don't know why that smudgey looking thing is showing up on the picture. It's not on the card I can assure you. I used Whisper White and Bashful Blue cardstock. As well as a strip of Bashful Blue from the retired Prints Pack (Hostess). I used my Crop-a-Dile to set black eyelets for the wheels of the baby buggy. Stamp sets are: Fun & Fast Notes and Short & Sweet.

I realized that I never showed you my main swap card for Convention. Well, here it is! I made 30 of these and they were very labor intensive. Lots of sponging, scoring and layering. I love these colors together.
I cased the basic design from the gallery of MicheleTx at Splitcoast. I did make several changes such as scoring the background, using dazzling diamonds on the bird and lots of layers. I got the sweetest email from a fellow convention goer that I had swapped with. She wrote to tell me that she swapped in excess of 500 cards at convention, and she placed my card in her top 25! Wow! I was blown away that she took the time to email me. I was so unsure of my swaps, thinking they weren't up to par. She definitely made me feel better! The stamp set is Always. The cardstock and ink colors are Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Creamy Caramel.

Dahlia fold

This card was cased from Angie Kennedy-Juda http://chicnscratch.typepad.com/chic_n_scratch/

I love the simplicity of this design.

I'm working on a baby card for one of Don's employees who just had their first baby. I don't do many baby cards, so this one is a stretch for me. I'll try to post it later.

Back from Vacation

On Friday, which was our anniversary, Don and I went hiking to a place called The Cascades. It's a really beautiful waterfall off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a nice hike and great scenery.


We took David to Linville Caverns one day. He loved being inside the cave where it was a cool 52 degrees (year round). It is so great that the cave was wheelchair accessible!

Spelunking at Worley's Cave

This picture was taken in a room known as the Bridal Suite. Legend has it that an actual wedding took place there years ago. I sure hope the bride didn't wear white!

The last day of our vacation we went spelunking at a cave called Worley's Cave in Eastern Tennessee. It was incredible!! We hiked 2 miles in, over rocks, under rocks, through an underground river and saw some really fantastic things. That is me under the rock, which was actually a "crawl" to another room of the cave. We all turned off our headlamps and did it in complete darkness......I have never "seen" darkness like that. The cave is 7 miles long, so we only saw a small portion of it. I would love to go back and see the rest sometime.

We also did some white water rafting on Tuesday, but I have to drop the camera off for developing. I used one of those disposable waterproof ones so mine wouldn't get wet.

We had a great vacation. But I'm glad it's over......I'm tired!

They said it wouldn't last.........

27 years ago today, Don and I were married....wow, 27 years! We were so young and knew nothing about life. Now we're older and still learning about life (and each other!). One of the songs the soloist sang before I walked down the isle at the church was James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend". The song has stood the test of time, Don has always been my best friend and that's not about to change. Happy Anniversary Don.......thanks for the best 27 years, I hope we have at least 27 more!

New Idea Book and Catalog

Today is the official launch of the 2008 Fall & Winter Idea Book from Stampin'Up!
I've updated my sidebar with the new picture. As always, click on the picture and it will take you right to the SU website for viewing. It won't be too long before online ordering kicks in too.
I love this new catalog......my wish list is so long.
Enjoy! And if there's something you can't live without, let me know!

Pictures

A couple of pictures:


Another shot of our group outside the convention center

Big Shot and Doctor's Bag:

More news from Convention

The 2008 Fall & Winter Catalog & Idea Book is absolutely beautiful! It has a scalloped edge on it just like our new punch. It is full of new stamp sets and accessories you are going to love! As you know, we can begin ordering August 11th. You still have until the 10th to order from the Spring and Summer Catalog anything that is being discontinued that you may want.
One of the most exciting announcements is that Stampin' Up! has partnered with Sizzix to make a Big Shot die-cut machine exclusively for Stampin' Up! You can create multiple die-cut shapes, tags and envelopes quickly and easily. The Big Shot machine works with more than 50 materials, including card stock, Designer Series Paper, fabric, CHIPBOARD, plastic, vinyl and more! The Big Shot uses our exclusive die-cuts made to coordinate with our stamp sets or regular Sizzix dies - plus it is compatible with other dies on the market!
OK, so the machine in and of itself is pretty exciting...but wait until you see the new Stampin' Up! logo black and white checkered bag that goes with it. It's called a Doctor's bag (it's that shape), and it is huge and beautifully constructed to hold a lot of weight. It's absolutely beautful! Phase Two of the Decor Elements is on it's way soon. We saw some of the new vinyl wall decor last week. I even got to try a sample at Convention and it was so easy to apply. The whole line is gorgeous and so versatile! We are now layering colored vinyl over colored vinyl like our two-step stamping! The flowers they demonstrated are in Pixie Pink, So Saffron, Gable Green and Chocolate Chip. Initially, I wasn't excited about the Decor Elements line, but after seeing it in person I'm completely on board now!
Shelli, our co-founder and CEO is starting her own personal blog beginning Monday, August 4th. www.SoShelli.com.
During the first general session of convention, Shelli announced the launch of Shelli's Signature Collection, a line of products that span the entire Stampin' Up! product line, including stamp sets, home décor, and accessories. These will be products that she either personally loves or, in some cases, even played a part in developing.
For the second time, Stampin' Up! will partner with Country Living magazine to offer an exclusive holiday kit. The Holiday Collection Stampin' Kit will include exclusive stamps, a combination of Designer Series paper, and coordinating accessories that will only be available by purchasing this kit.
The kit and project ideas made from the kit would be featured among 20 pages in the magazine's December holiday issue!
To those of you on my mailing selector, you should be receiving your Fall-Winter Sampler catalog. It's a sneak peek of what is in the new Fall & Winter catalog and offers some fantastic promotions!
Fall-Winter Sampler PromotionsDates: August 11, 2008-January 18, 2009
Promotion Details:New Recruit Incentive:
August 11-October 11, 2008
Join as a demonstrator with the standard $199 Starter Kit and choose one stamp set out of the Fall-Winter Sampler or Idea Book & Catalog for FREE.
I would LOVE to have you join my team!
Hostess Incentive:
October 1-November 30, 2008
Host a $350 workshop and choose one stamp set from the Fall-Winter Sampler for FREE!!!
Product Offer:
December 1, 2008-January18, 2009
Spend $20 and get 20 % off any stamp set from the Fall-Winter Sampler. What a great deal!!

Back from Convention

Wow! What a few wild days it's been! I don't think I've ever seen so many women and men (there were a few!) in one place that share my love of stamping. It was incredible and overwhelming at times. The crowd was HUGE waiting to pick up our convention bags and to get into Momento Mall the first day. I waited in line for 2 1/2 hours to get into Momento Mall. But it was fun talking to people and swapping the whole time. People were generally nice and really excited to be there. I met a few of the ladies whose blogs I stalk every day. One of those ladies was Dawn Griffith. She is a doll and I loved talking with her. She's just as friendly and perky as she is on her blog.
I didn't get to finish all my make and takes at convention. I hate to rush through them and do sloppy work, so I'll finish them here at home where I can concentrate on them. I met some fabulous ladies at the tables though!

This is a shot of some of the girls in our group. From the left, it's Jeria, Peggy, Lisa and Lynn......great girls!

This is a shot of our whole group with Shelli Gardner, co-founder of Stampin'Up! She sat for hours every day during our lunch break to pose for pictures with anyone who wanted them. We were wearing our Sock Monkey (new stamp set) shirts. She was a great sport!

I am in recovery mode at the moment, it was a long 5 days with not much sleep. But I had a blast and would definitely do it again. I LOVE the new catalog and the new stamp sets that were in our convention bags. I also won a prize from the Prize Patrol during the final general session. It is the new Crazy for Cupcakes set and coordinating wheel, plus a roll of the new 1" double stitched grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip. I LOVE it!!

Here's a link to some of the highlights from another blogger. She did such a great job re-capping, so I thought I would link you to her blog.

http://danniesdesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/

The Barbie commercial was SOOOOOOO funny!

I'll try to post some pictures of the stamp sets we got next time. But for now, I think I need a nap!