Lakeshore Stamping

Wild Wednesday & Terrific Thursday!

I fell a little behind on posting at the end of the week.  I think I was just worn out!  On Wednesday, we visiting Animal Kingdom.  It was MUCH hotter today so we only lasted half of the day.

The safari ride was our favorite trip.  I just loved seeing these elephants!  Many other animals were out too which were great to see!!

That evening we had one of two Stampin' Up! gatherings. 

At this event we had share tables, some swapped and lots of treats.  We also got the NEW upcoming Annual Catalog!  This was SO exciting!  My favorite part was visiting with friends!

Here is my friend Penny Thomas and I.  I loving seeing Penny at events and catching up with her!

And Shalae Brown who I've missed!  I met Shalae at Founder's Circle two years ago when she worked for Stampin' Up! full time.  She has now switched to being a stay at home mom for her three adorable children.  So I only get to visit with her twice a year and I took advantage of it!

It was a nice night visiting and looking through the new catalog!  The new catalog will be available starting June 1st!  I can't wait!

On Thursday, we decided to visit Sea World!  The kids LOVE marine animals so they were super excited to go!  Our favorite parts were watching the Dolphin show, the Sea Lion show and of course the amazing Whale Show of Shamu's family!

Here we are at the Ocean's One show of the whales!

This show was amazing and I am glad I have it on video tape so the kids can watch it again and again!

Thursday evening was our dinner and stunt show event.  While boarding the buses, we were each given one of these with a few snacks.

We were taken to Hollywood Studios and saw a portion of their Indiana Jones stunt show. 

Then I thought we were getting ready to see another show when the backdrop was moving and this appeared!  We were having dinner backstage of the stunt show!  SO COOL!

It was another amazing night Stampin' Up! hosted for us!  When I returned to the room this was waiting on the bed!  Yes, the flower is made out of paper!

And inside...

A beautiful Thomas Kinkade picture for us to remember our trip.  Little did Stampin' Up! know I love Thomas Kinkade!  Aaron and I bought our first one while on our honeymoon in Maui and it hangs above our bed.  We bought another one for our bedroom and I think I have a great spot for this one too!

We had an amazing trip!  It will be unforgettable and now I can't wait to put all a My Digital Studio scrapbook together for us to remember it ALL by!  I took lots of pictures so I can't wait do get busy doing it!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Where have I been??

I have been busy!  Not really busy creating like I need to but just enjoying life!  My kids had their Spring Break starting on March 23 so we took off with my Mom to visit my sister and her family in Colorado Springs.  We were there for 6 days and enjoying watching the kids play!  Now I am trying to play catch up!

I took the pictures my sister took while we were there and made a Flip Scrapbook Album using the Summer Smooches project and will be giving this to my Mom.  I know she'd enjoy showing it off!

I just love making these little flip albums.  So quick and easy to do!  I love finishing a project so this is my kind of scrapbooking!  I held a class on Tuesday for this little album and another one I will share with you later this week.

Our promotion for April is the Sneak Peak of the Summer Smooches product from the upcoming annual catalog in June.  This product is only available during April and click this link...

Download Summer Smooches April 2012

so you can see the flyer with all the details.  You won't want to miss these fabulous items.  Then go to my website, www.lakeshorestamping.stampinup.net, to order online!

I hope you and your family have a Happy Easter!

"Hello" from St. Lucia!

Even though I am vacationing with family this week in St. Lucia in the West Indies, I thought I would share a card with all of you using some wonderful Sale-A-Bration items. 

First here is a view from our balcony...I know...quit rubbing it in right!  It is a beautiful place and we are having a very relaxing time!

Okay, Okay...now here is the card. 

This is a card I made in December for my downline team gathering event.  It was one of the make-n-takes.  The DSP, the flower stamp and the "Hello", you can get free for placing a $50 order from now until March 31st.  The stamp set is from the Occasions Mini catalog...and since I am on vacation my mind is totally drawing a blank on the name.  Which is okay...that means I am relaxing like I should!

I love the new framelits and matching embossing folders in the Occasions Mini too!  They are a must have!  I love using them to make the card a little short so you can see the DSP in the inside edge. 

I hope you are enjoying the Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration catalog too!  I will be back to work next week to share more!

Have a great week!

 

My Christmas Card

Each year, I like to create a Christmas card where I can include a wallet size photo of my kids as part of the card.  I usually try to use it on the card so they can easily pull it out and keep it.  This year was no different and I was worried I wouldn't find a way until I browsed Stampin' Connection.  Stampin' Connection is where demonstrators can go to find out information, connect with other demonstrators and get inspired!  I found many different designs of this sleigh, mostly the ones I saw had a sleigh full of presents, but I changed it and made it with my own presents ;)

How fun is this card!  I really enjoyed creating them and I hope those family & friends who received one enjoyed it too!  Yes, I created 44 of these cards!

The dies I used for the sleigh are the Top Note die, Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, and the Swirls Scribbles Sizzlit Die. 

I hope you are enjoying preparing for the holidays.  Even though I know the kids are excited for Santa to arrive, I just love enjoying the preparation for Christmas.  I am not in a hurry for it to come.  I love the holiday spirit that is around!

My New Niece!!!

A week earlier than expected, my sister gave birth to my adorable niece on November 22.  I've received MANY pictures during the last 3 weeks and she changes between each picture!  When I was out visiting her in Colorado in August, we designed her baby announcements.  We cut all the paper and had everything ready to go.  I wasn't able to help her finish them but the hard work of designing the perfect announcement was done which was a relief months ahead of time!  I love stamping with her so our creative juices were just flowing!

Now that the announcements are sent out I wanted to share with you the announcement.

We made a few different versions since the Beau Chateau DSP has only two sheets of each design.  This is the one I received in the mail from her last week.  I never took a sample when created them so I was excited to see the finished product!

This pulls out of the pocket...

Then this beautiful image appears...

Of all the pictures she has sent me I do believe this is my favorite!  I can't wait to have one of my own as soon as my parents arrive from being there for over two weeks helping out and enjoying the Karbowski family!  The announcement uses ALL Stampin' Up! product and I know Amy is relieved they are done and sent out! 

Thanks for letting me share my beautiful niece with you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to make sure I posted two more Thanksgiving ideas before Thanksgiving.  My kids have Wednesday off so we have lots of family time planned and I won't have much time to post on my blog.  You've probably wondered where I've been, I had my gallbladder removed on November 9th and it took me a good week to get back to normal and now trying to catch up.  I am feeling better and glad it is behind me just in time for the holidays!

This was a cute pumpkin I made for a couple of craft fairs I did earlier this fall.  It is one of my favorite fall items as I LOVE pumpkins!  It works perfect for a little something and I have a few left and plan on taking them to Thanksgiving dinner at Aaron's Aunts house on Thursday. 

Here are a couple fall pictures of a few things I am thankful for!  My two kids and my husband but he isn't in the pictures.

I also have a friend, Tara, who I am grateful for!  She is a crafting fool like me but she can sew!! LOL!  She made me these adorable pumpkins out of our Spice Cake Fabric.  Aren't they adorable!?!??!  I just love them and she also has a love of pumpkins like me!  (Don't ask me how to make them!  LOL!  I don't know and she is out of town for a week.  I believe she found it online somewhere!)

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are able to spend it with loved ones! 

Thankful Ideas!

I've been having fun making projects with the Spice Cake line and it hasn't stopped.  I've had a few events where I've had different people at each event so I've been able to do the same projects lately.  It has been nice and I truly love these projects so it has been fun too!

I was in Wisconsin a week ago for my Grandma's 85th birthday celebration.  I decided to bring a couple of projects along as most of my Aunts like to craft and even the ones that don't still joined in for one project.  I also had cousins join in on the fun!  It was nice to see their smiles while finishing their projects!

This card was a similar one that Shelli and Shalae demonstrated during Convention last July.  I knew I would get lots of use out of this card!

I am loving this fabric! 

I love these Top Note Bags and you may have seen MANY of these on past posts on my blog for just about every occasion.  I like to use this idea at a workshop where there are new stampers.  Such an easy but WOW project.  Here is my Spice Cake version :)

I hope you are enjoying some fall weather where you are or at least having fun playing with these fall colors!  

Hope your November started out great!  Seriously...where did October go??

Happy Stamping!

Fun with Fabric!

A year ago a friend made one of these adorable wreath's with our fabric and I fell in love with it.  I never took the time to make one until this year.  I spent a weekend with my Grandparent's in Wisconsin and this was great to do while chatting with them while sitting on the couch.  Kept my fingers busy!

It is AGAIN made with our Spice Cake Fabric.  I started out with a metal wreath and cut my strips 1"x 8" and tied and tied and tied.  It really didn't take that long once I had all the strips cut.  I used about a package and a half of the Spice Cake Fabric.  I tied them pretty close together to make it full.  My friend, Mandy, had one at her house last weekend and she used only one package and it also looked great.  They just weren't tied as close together. 

I knew right away the spot I wanted to hang it!  In my studio on my old door I found in my parent's cellar.  It was a perfect fit!

I hope you aren't sick of the Spice Cake items yet because I still have a few more projects to show you using this suite of product!  I even LOVE the name of it so yummy!!

Enjoy your week!  I am getting ready for our 2nd Annual Stampin' for a Cure event for this upcoming weekend!  It will be so much fun!

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!

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!