Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have a younger sister.  Well, I also have a younger brother named Joe. He's the baby of the family, but he's all grown up now.  In fact, he's a successful pharmacist currently living in Winchester, Virginia (and he's single ; )  ).

When Joe came home to visit in the first week of December, he made a stop to the Victorian Christmas Bazaar where I had a table selling my Stampin' Up! goodies.  (I didn't sell many cards, but I did make a profit.  That will be the topic of another post.)  Anyhow, it was really the first time that Joe had seen what I do and all that Stampin' Up! has to offer.

Joe's passion is Beachbody. He signed up to be a Beachbody Coach about a year ago.  You may have seen those Insanity/P90X workout infomercials on TV.  Well that is part of what Beachbody sells.  He has really gotten into this whole workout thing and thinks everyone else should too. 

Beachbody is also a direct sales company.  After just a year, Joe has sponsored several other coaches.  When he saw some of my Christmas cards, Joe asked if he could buy some to give to the coaches in his down line.   I said, "Yes!"  To make a long story short, Joe forgot to take the Christmas cards with him that weekend.  The next time he came home was a few days before Christmas, and it seemed too late to send them.

Joe still wanted to send some kind of cards to his team. I agreed to make them for him, but didn't know exactly what.  Then last week I had an "Ah ha!" moment and reached for my Word Play stamp set.  I inked up the stamp "Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams," made a sample card, took a photo, and emailed it to Joe.  I thought that this would be the perfect card to send:

Stamps:  Word Play
Paper: marina mist, pacific point, poppy parade, soft suede, whisper white, designer series paper patterns pack brights, designer series paper pack in color (hostess level 1)
Ink: marina mist, soft suede, and poppy parade markers
Accessories: dimensionals

Joe loved the cards!  Said it was perfect for the occasion.  He printed the Beachbody emblem small enough to punch out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and glued it to the inside of the card (sorry, no photo.)  Joe said that the Marina Mist color that I used for the card base was almost the same as the Beachbody emblem color.  Joe is writing an encouraging message to each member of his team to do well in the upcoming year.  As a bonus, he said he would enclose a copy of my Stampin' Up! business card in each envelope.  Thanks, Joe! 

Here is link to Joe's Shakeology web site.  Shakeology is a nutritional product marketed by Beachbody.

Happy stamping!

Susan

Tweet

I should always have extra cards made -- just in case!

Yesterday at about 3:30 pm my dear husband Randy called me from work and said that he needed a card for his co-worker Gary.  Randy informed me that Gary's last day on the job is today.  Now, my dear Randy knew this information two weeks ago, but neglected to tell me until the day before he needed it. 

So after I cooked dinner, broke up some disagreements between the kids, cleaned up the leftovers, washed dishes, put a load of laundry in the washer, got the kids ready for bed, looked for an already finished card that I might be able to use (and didn't find!), and broke up some more disagreements, I took time to make Gary's card.  The only request that Randy made was that it say, "Best Wishes."

Without further adieu:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Fabulous Phrases
Card Stock: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Soft Suede
Accessories:  word window punch modern label punch, sponge

It's not a complicated card at all.  I own the Fabulous Phrases stamp set in the clear mount variety, so I mounted the two words next to each other and stamped them at once.  Then I punched out the words with the word window punch.  After that, I adhered the words to a piece of soft suede card stock, then I punched it out using the modern label punch.  It's much easier to do it that way so you don't have to fuss about getting the top layer centered on such a small area. 

I was a bit disappointed that I didn't already have a card made - even one that I could switch out sentiments.  Honestly, Randy rarely asks me for cards.  And I don't often send masculine cards.  So I will have to make some man-cards to add to my stash.  I also do not have any sympathy cards on hand either.  (Those are not fun to make, so I usually wait till I actually need one.  That way, I can also pray while I'm creating.)

Even though I seem like I'm whining a bit with having to make this card at the last minute, I really didn't mind.  Randy appreciated that I made the card for him.  He knows that I am a multi-taleted wife and mom and never let him down : )

Happy Stamping!

Susan

Tweet

Christmas ATCs

I've got my four children home for the Christmas holiday : )  My sister, who only has one child and lives in a spotless house on the weekends (she lives with my mom and dad during the week because of her job -- long story!) came to visit this morning.  Toys, pillows, blankets, dirty dishes, etc. were ALL over the living room floor.  Even after she complained, I didn't even care.  My kids are having fun and that's what matters.  The mess has been cleaned up numerous times and it will get cleaned up again.

Today I'm sharing Christmas ATCs that I sent out earlier this week.  I belong to the Transit Traders, an artist trading card group that meets quarterly to, of course, trade cards, share techniques, etc.  At the October meeting we all decided to make Christmas ATCs and send them to everyone in the group.  At first I thought, "Oh no!  One more thing that I have to do for Christmas."

Cards from other members started arriving in the mail and I started to feel the pressure.  It took me a while to decide exactly what I was going to do. Once I got started I really enjoyed creating these beauties: 

I stamped the trees with versamark, then applied white embossing powder.  After that, I used the void area from the scallop oval punch to add clouds to the sky and snow to the ground.  My only regret is that I didn't put a "merry Christmas" on it somewhere. But I like it how it is.  And that's how I like my living room, too.

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver, Night of Navy
Ink:  versamark, craft white
Accessories:  white embossing powder, scallop oval punch, sponge dauber

Tweet

Christmas Angels

Yesterday afternoon the elementary bus that my two daughters ride was over 10 minutes late coming home.  The schools they attend are only blocks away, so I knew that something was amiss.  I called my husband at work and he told me that there was a bus accident across town.  I started to pray for whoever was injured.  A few minutes later, the girls safely arrived home.  My dear Annika was concerned about being late because she had no way of contacting me and knew I'd be worried.

I still didn't know any details about the collision with the bus.  Rumors were going around town, so I found some information online.  Here is a link to the news article.  The front page of The Derrick had this photo on it:

 

The teenage driver of the car suffered multiple fractures and other injuries.  I haven't heard an update on his condition, but he was life-flighted from the scene.  Several students on the bus suffered minor injuries.  Please pray for all of those who are suffering from this tragic accident.

I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks.  I participated in a vendor fair a few weeks ago and was busy making cards, etc. to sell.  Then I've just been busy with life.

Here is a card that I made for my friend, Tina.  She bought the stamp set from me and insisted that I use it before delivering it to her.  Today's card is a personal reminder of how thankful I am for my family.

Stamp Set:  Angelic Joy
Paper:  Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, regal dsp
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, versamark
Accessories:  gold embossing powder, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon. modern label punch

I have another version of this card using Concord Crush and Daffodil Delight.

Happy Stamping!

Susan

Tweet

Breanna's Birthday Card

My five year-old daughter is going to her friend Breanna's birthday party/sleepover tomorrow.  The party starts at the roller skating rink, then they'll go back to Breanna's house for pizza and girly fun.

Dide wanted to make the card.  I helped her choose the sentiment, then she wanted to add "those pointy things" (brads).  I helped her with the placement of some items like the rhinestones.  She did all of the stamping.  Take a look:

And here's Dide proudly holding the card:

Stamps: Afterthoughts (level 1 hostess set)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry, brights dsp, Whisper White

Accessories: 2 3/8" scallop circle punch,  1 3/4" circle punch, scallop edge punch, rhinestones, assorted brads

Tweet

Evelyn's workshop

Last summer  I did a "Christmas in July" craft show.  Didn't sell a lick of Stampin' Up!, but I got my name out there. A few of the people who stopped by my table signed up for my mailing list and attended my stamp camp.  The best thing that happened to me that day was that I was stationed beside my friend Evelyn Wheeler who is a Pampered Chef consultant.  I have hosted two Pampered Chef shows for Evelyn over the last few years, so it was only fitting that I ask her to host a Stampin' Up! workshop for me.

Recognize that stamped image?  It's the large pine tree from the Lovely as a Tree stamp set.  I got this idea from Sharon Field and simplified it up a bit for my friend Evelyn's make-n-take.



The colors I chose were Real Red and Always Artichoke. I stamped the tree on Whisper White, then added the stamped and punch ornament with some Stampin' Dimensionals and some retired gold cording. Then I matted it with Real Red and Always Artichoke card stock.

What I really loved about doing the workshop for Evelyn was that some of the ladies decided to personalize their envelopes with the pine cone stamp. They all turned out really cute.

Happy stamping!

Susan

Tweet

Wish Big

Yesterday I took my three daughters to a birthday party for Grace at a roller skating rink.  All of the kids had a lot of fun.  Grace is the daughter of my friend, Rhonda.  We went to the same high school many years ago, but didn't get to know each other until we had kids.  Grace is about six months older than my daughter, Dide (a Dutch name pronounced Dee-da.)  Rhonda and I have share parenting issues for a while now.

I wanted to make Grace a special birthday card, so here it is:

Dide helped me choose the size of the rhinestone. It is the smallest in the pack allowing for the points of the star to be visible.  The card has lots of pink and coordinated with Grace's princess theme : )

Stamp: Word Play

Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo

Ink:  Melon Mambo

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, rhinestone, white gel pen, 2 3/8" punch, 1 3/4" punch

Tweet