Lakeshore Stamping

Strength & Hope

Two years ago I lost my Aunt Jane to cancer.  She had been diagnosed with breast cancer 8 years before and had been in remission for 7 years.  Two years ago she had gone to the doctor for not feeling well and found out the cancer had started again and spread throughout places in her body.  She stayed with us for just a few short weeks and the cancer took her life. 

We just found out a few months ago my Aunt Phyllis, Jane's sister, who is also a breast cancer survivor was diagnosed with lung cancer.  With in a few weeks it has now spread to her neck and brain.  They are only giving her a few short months.

Last year I held two Stampin' for a Cure events in my home town to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure West Michigan Affiliate.  They both were successful and we were able to donate $1000 to Komen last October.  This Stampin' for a Cure event was started by my team members in Colorado and they are now 5 years in and raise over $8000 each year for their Komen Affiliate.  After going through this with my Aunts, I started the same event here in Michigan. 

I will be holding this event on Saturday, October 8th and will have two sessions to attend, 9am or 1pm.  Attendees will make six cards, win door prizes, participate in a Silent Auction and Grand Prize Basket and be provided with lunch.  All of the monies will be donated directly to our local Susan G. Komen for the Cure West Michigan Affiliate.  If you are local I would love to have your participate in this event which is very near and dear to my heart. 

In honor of my Aunts, I have made this card using the current Strength & Hope set which is in the Summer Mini Catalog which is only available through today.  This is a great set and I am sad to see it go but I will be using it in October when many thank yous will need to be sent out. 

I really like using the words for a little banner as you know how much I love banners.  Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for each set sold.  I hope we will see a set like this again.  With being part of a company with so many women involved this set has meant a lot to many people.  If you haven't taken the time to purchase this set, you still have through today.  I hope you'll take advantage of it before it is gone.

Thanks for listening!

Rising Star Holiday Mini Swap

I am SO excited there is only 2 days left before the new Holiday Mini is available to all of you!  I was asked to participate in a swap with past and present Rising Star award achievers.  The timing worked out great for me and I was able to participate.  The Holiday Mini is always my favorite mini catalog that comes out and this year isn't any different!  There were 32 participants in this swap which was a lot but I had a great time playing with the new items!  Here is my card...

I used the new set "Christmas Lodge" from the Holiday Mini.  This is a fun set and it would be great for anyones Christmas card.  Just love the house image!  I stamped the house with Whisper White Craft Ink and then heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.  I didn't want it stark white so I decided to give this a try and I liked the outcome. 

The Designer Series Paper is from the "Letters to Santa" pack which is in the Idea Book & Catalog.  I just love blue, green and brown and this paper fit the card perfectly.  If you look close you will see I used the new Snow Burst Textured Embossing Folder on the Letters to Santa DSP.  Just love the textured it gives. 

The button is from the Subtles Collection and has a Mini Jingle Bell tied in the center.  These bells are just adorable and I loved fitting it with a button!  These are also in the new mini and only $2.95 for 48 bells!  Too cute!

I am a banner freak and loved how the greeting fit perfectly as a banner.  Yes, I am also addicted to the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch.  I love the small scallops this punch gives and adds just the right amount of detail to a card.

I hope you've enjoyed browsing the Holiday Mini catalog.  If you haven't received yours please let me know and I will get one out to you.  On Thursday you will also be able to order from this mini and start creating with these new wonderful products!

Have fun creating and remember you can order anytime online by clicking on the "Order Online" button at the top right hand side of this page.

Happy Stamping!

Our Team Shoebox Swap

Hello!  Last night we had our quarterly Shoebox Swap with my Lakeshore Stampers Team Members.  It was a nice relaxing night creating each others cards.  I always enjoy this event as I also get to stamp, visit and not have to bring my whole stamp room to the meeting :)

These ladies were very creative and I enjoyed seeing what they brought!  I want to share with you my card and then brag a little bit with about my team and show you their cards as well. 

I surprised all of them and used products out of the Holiday Mini.  They were all pretty excited and I just LOVE this card!!!

I just LOVE the new stamp set "Gently Falling" from the upcoming Holiday Mini.  I also used the the word "Grateful" from the upcoming set "Always Thankful" and some VERY YUMMY fabric called Spice Cake and I am so in LOVE with this fabric.  I can't wait to make more projects using the fabric.  I also used the Oval from the new Designer Frame Embossing Folder and another favorite embossing folder, Square Lattice.  I love how they have paired Pool Party, More Mustard and Soft Suede in this fabric as well!  Such great colors together!

This card below was made by my downline, Maureen Barry.  Great layout!

This one was made by my downline, Tammy DeRooy.  Fun Faux Suede technique!

This one was made by my downline, Dawn Bourgette.  "Cool" color combo!

This one was made by my downline, Joann Rennhack.  New Brayer technique!

I am thrilled to have these ladies on my team and to share the love of stamping with.  We had such a great time and I am looking forward to the next one!

I have created two more cards I recently have done for swaps and I will share them with you next week!  I've been having fun using the products in the new Holiday Mini.  If you didn't receive yours in the mail this week please let me know so I can get one out to you!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

First Digital Card

I had a free introductory class to My Digital Studio tonight.  Of course it was a day where my voice kept going in and out but luckily I only had two good friends who came so it worked out okay.  This weekend I had realized I had created two photobooks and a journal using MDS but I had never created a card.  I thought I'd better do this before the class tonight.  I had a great time making this simple card and I wanted to share it with you.  It would also work great as a real handmade card too.  I may have to give it a try!

I may print a few of these cards for my grandparents who sent out 10 birthday cards a month!  Yes, they are in their early 90's and late 80's and still everyone in their family gets a card on their birthday.  This may be a great gift idea!

I have been working hard in my stamp room getting out 46 swaps this past weekend!  I hope to share them with you this weekend so you can see what I've been up to!  I've been playing with some great new products from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog.  You should have received yours this week if you are on my mailing list.  If you didn't please let me know so I can get one to you soon!  You won't want to miss this catalog...always my favorite!

Hope you are having a great week!

Sharing a My Digital Studio Project

I am finally sharing one of my projects with you using this amazing software!  When the software for My Digital Studio (MDS) first came out, I made a book of our Summer of 2009.  Then I didn't touch the software for a while until my friend, Mandy Grant, taught me some real cool things using MDS while we were on Stampin' Up!'s Incentive Trip.  So while we were on our Alaska cruise this past spring I started playing with the software and made a 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook of our entire trip!  I will share a few pages with you in the next few months and here is one of my favorite layouts.

This is just one layout of the 24 page book but one of my favorites.  I created each layout from scratch and had fun doing it.  I love using this software especially when I am away from my stamp room.  This way I can still get my fix of stamping while away...and I need my fix!   I just received my hard cover book back and it is GORGEOUS!  I am so happy with how it turned out and hope to do more of these books as we travel.

If you live near me and want to learn more about this great software, I am offering a FREE introductory class using My Digital Studio on August 23rd at my Lakeshore Stamping Studio at 6:30pm.  Please contact me for more information and to register.  I may have a little something for you so I want to be prepared with how many are attending!

Have a great weekend!