Lakeshore Stamping

Christmas Already???

Well Christmas is less than 3 months away and when you are a stamper, you need to start on your projects as early as you can! 

I had my first Christmas Card Stack this week and I will be hosting 3 more so when the ladies are done, they will have 40 cards to send out.  It is a great way to get your Christmas cards done without all the stress.  This is one of the cards I created using our wonderful new Deck the Halls fabric from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I used the new Scallop Squares Duo die from the Holiday Mini to cut the fabric.  Our dies cut through fabric just wonderful! The holly is from the hostess set Peaceful Season from the Holiday Mini and the Merry Christmas is from the set Bells & Boughs also in the Holiday Mini...it is one of my favorite from the mini.  The background on the Soft Suede cardstock is French Filigree from the Idea Book & Catalog.  I haven't been able to make a card without the ribbon ruffle lately and this one uses the Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon.

I am busy getting ready for my first annual Stampin' for a Cure event next Saturday which will benefit the Susan G Komen for the Cure Grand Rapids Affiliate here locally in Michigan.  I am very excited for this event and for all the ladies who will be joining me!  My team members in Colorado Springs will be holding their event this Saturday.  I decided I wanted to also do one since losing my aunt to breast cancer last year.  I will keep you updated as this event gets closer.

Have a fabulous Friday!

 

Artistic Etchings

I have another card to share with you from my Stamp-A-Stack earlier this month.  I've been meaning to post this all week but life sometimes just gets in the way!  I am still trying to adjust back to normality after a fabulous trip in St. George Utah with some fabulous people! I miss all of you!

 

This card uses many favorites!  The stamp set is Artistic Etchings and has been a favorite since the new catalog came out!  The Newsprint DSP is sponged with Basic Black ink to give it the vintage look while using the new Basic Black Waffle Paper!

Sorry for the quick post but now it is time for kids, dinner and then stamping with friends.  Hopefully I will have more to share with you later this week! 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

An amazing trip...

I finally returned home late last night after 14 hours of traveling...UGH!  It was worth every minute but sometimes my body just doesn't handle time changes well.  I got the kids off to school today and then I went back to bed.  It felt good and I feel much better this afternoon.  I am missing all my new and old friends today especially when looking through the pictures of this amazing trip.

I started off the trip with two amazing friends, Kimberly Van Diepen and Tamye Dunbar, in Las Vegas for a couple days.  We shopped, slept in, visited at the pool and enjoyed friendship in Vegas.

We enjoyed a delicious meal at our hotel, Bellagio, before our evening out.  Tamye is in the white, Kimberly in the middle and then me.

Shopping was fun and the experience was fun with a lot of walking in the warm sun!

It was SO pretty at night with all the lights.  This is the hotel Paris which was directly across the street.

 
On Wednesday afternoon, we boarded a bus to take us to St. George, Utah for the start of Founder's Circle 2010.  It was the most beautiful two hour bus ride.  The mountains and desert were just beautiful.

This was the welcome we received when we arrived at the hotel in St. George.  I am with Bonnie Thurber from Stampin' Up! in this picture.  Bonnie went every where with us and she was a hoot!  It was so much fun getting to know her and the other Stampin' Up! employees that put on this great event for us!

These are some of the new friends I met on the first night.  We all had assigned seats and our table was a riot!  We laughed all night long.  It was nice to met everyone!  Left to right (Front):  April, Jo, Jacque Left to right (Back):  Penny, Me, Sharon, Dawn, France.  I couldn't have picked a better table to sit at!

It was decorated with a 50's theme so we wore goofy glasses.  Here is Me, Kimberly, and Holle.  Holle and I are both Rising Stars and Kimberly is our fearless leader! 

On my last post I had skipped ahead a day so I wanted to back track to the beginning.   So these were the first few days of our trip and thanks for letting me share with you.  There is more to come and I hope to post some pictures of some projects in the upcoming days.  Time for bed for me!  Lots to do tomorrow!

 

Just pinch me....

I really can't believe I am in St. George, Utah for Stampin' Up! Founders Circle. For those of you who don't know, Founders Circle is a group of demonstrators who are either, in the top 100 for the U.S., 15 Rising Stars U.S., top 15 Canadian Demonstrators, and 3 Rising Stars Canadian.  I have met SO many wonderful people and have loved every minute of it.  Today is the last day and it is a bit sad as it has gone SO fast.  I hope today goes slow but we know that is never true.

Last night was our pajama party and card swap.  I had to make 135 swaps for last night...I was busy last week putting them all together.  Here's the start of them...

And here is the finished product.  I am sure you know after making 135 of this card I am a little sick of seeing it! 

Not all made Christmas cards which was nice...I have an assortment of others and some GREAT ones!  I just can't believe I swapped with the top 100 demonstrators last night!  We were in a LONG line and it seemed like forever but it went very smoothly!

While doing the swap we were all in our pajamas which was fun.  I didn't see many duplicate pairs which is amazing!  Here is Kimberly and I in our pajamas with our little gift which as in a popcorn box and we didn't know it wasn't popcorn because there was popcorn in the room until we opened the box.  The pen has "Founders Circle 2010" engraved on it.  The gifts are just great!

I also took a tour on Thursday to Kanab, Utah which is the town Stampin' Up!'s manufacturing plant is located.  We had a 2 hour bus ride of all first time Founders Circle attendees and it was a blast.  I met some wonderful people and the plant is just amazing!  Here are some pictures to share with you...

The employees were all outside cheering for us and it was a VERY touching experience.  They are SO thankful for us demonstrators and we are so thankful for them.  There were tears from many of us as I still get goose bumps thinking about it.  Everyone was SO nice!

This is in the entrance to the facility and many of us got our pictures taken here. 

Shelli and two of here girls were on the tour with us and it was nice because we learned more about them and the start here in Kanab with Stampin' Up! and some one on one time with them.  It was fabulous!

To the left of me is Sara, Shelli's oldest, and to the right is Shalae, Shelli's second oldest.  They were WONDERFUL to talk with. Yesterday I was able to chat for about an hour with them and we had such a fun talk and got to know more about them.  It was great!

This is a playground in Kanab where they use the rubber they cut off the stamps while making them and recycle them by putting them at the playground.  There is a whole long wonderful story on why they do this but I'll have to share that later.  It was so much better to have rubber than bark, it was very springy when you walked on it!

Here are two other Rising Stars that I met who are a lot of fun.  In the middle is Amy Jordan and then Jenny Watson.  These ladies were fun and I am just glad I got to met them.  I also went to dinner with them, Joanna Banta, another Rising Star and Mandy Grant, Demonstrator #57, who I am thrilled to have met.  We had a great time and will all hopefully stay in touch!

One last thing and then I need to go eat breakfast!!!

Each night when we get back to our room, we receive pillow gifts from Stampin' Up!  This is a SPECIAL gift that was waiting on Thursday night.

Isn't the cupcake just the cutest thing you've ever seen!?!?!  Then inside was even better.  A Simple Adorned Charm Necklace HANDMADE by Shelli and her girls for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How awesome is that!?!? 

I have SO many more stories and pictures to share with you but it will have to wait...sorry!  I hope this gives you a little taste of what Founders Circle is all about and I wanted to share my excitement and my trip of a lifetime with all of you...my wonderful stamping friends!

Have a great weekend!

 

Lovin' our Stencils!

I use our stencils a lot on cards and scrapbook pages, as you may have noticed.  They are so easy to use and I just love the way they look.  This is another card I created for my Stamp-A-Stack last week. 

This stencil is located in the Definitely Decorative brochure and it called Elegant Trio.  It comes with two other wonderful stencils.  The stencil image is on a tag from the Two Tags Die which I love seeing it being used on cards more lately as a layer.  I am happy to have Wild Wasabi back as a color since our color renovation.  On this card I paired it up with Crumb Cake and Early Espresso, another favorite next to Crumb Cake! The jumbo wheel used on the background is Very Vintage, I use this wheel on many different projects. 

Here is a list of the supplies used:

Stamps:  Just Believe, Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel

Inks:  Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso

Cardstock:  Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Neutrals DSP Stack

Accessories:  Two Tags Die, Modern Label Punch, Decorative Label Extra Large Punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Bitty Buttons, Linen Thread, 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Jewels Basic Rhinestone

Thanks for checking out my blog today!

SO excited...

Yesterday I found out I was a winner of the So Shelli Creative Challenge using color combinations from the new Color Coach.  Each month Shelli Gardner, CEO & Co-Founder, of Stampin' Up! posts a challenge on her blog for anyone to play.  She picks 5 winners each month and they win any FREE current stamp set from any of the catalogs.  Hmmmm...decisions!  The bicycle card from the previous post of 8/23/10 is the card I submitted and won.  Here is the link to Shelli's blog if you'd like to play along or check out her blog - www.soshelli.com.

I held a Stamp-A-Stack in my stamp room this past week and I'd like to share a few cards in the next few days with you.

This card uses a couple new items from the Idea Book & Catalog.  The stamp set is Aviary and included a few fun bird cages with and 4 cut little birds.  The card is the new In Color, Blushing Bride along with a strip of Pear Pizzazz with Teahouse Background stamped on it.  I just love this new ribbon, well I guess it is actually Crochet Trim but I just love it.  There are two different kinds and this one is the 1/2" Chantilly.  On the top of the bird cage is our new jewels, Basic Pearls.  They come in a pack of 150 in 3 different sizes for only $4.95.  I have been using these and the Basic Rhinestones on just about every card I make lately!

Thanks for being patient with me since my last post.  I am trying to get everything off my "To Do before I leave for Founder's Circle" list, which I only have two things left but one of those are 135 swap cards!  Yes, 135...it is time to cut the paper today.  Glad I have Stampin' Up!'s Tabletop Paper Cutter so I can cut more than one sheet at a time and not have to go through 3 blades!  I'll share my progress later in the week with you.

Stampin' Hugs!