It was HER day!

Yesterday my sweet princess turned 9! WOW does time fly.  The biggest hit of the day was having her dad home for her birthday.  I remember when we sat the kids down to tell them Russ was going overseas and the FIRST thing Alexis said to him was, "You're going to miss my birthday!" 

We celebrated her day ALL day yesterday.  She really was treated with royalty.  Brandon wanted to start her day off right by serving her breakfast in bed.  I couldn't believe this was his idea.  The kids are going through the "stop looking at me" stage.  I was relieved to still hear kindness from there mouths. 

Here is the start of her day!

Brandon was wearing the Justin Bieber hat when he woke Alexis up.  He told her it was cold and maybe she should wear it.  Again, I wanted to faint from all the *LOVE* I was seeing. 

Russ and I had lunch with the Princess at school.  She really wanted to go to the American Girl Doll store in DC but the only thing I could think about was the traffic getting there.  I compromised with her and said we will go this weekend. Instead I took her to have a Pedicure.  Of course I enjoyed one too. <smile>

Extremely relaxing!  We both enjoyed.  We came home to pick up the boys and then we were off to her "spot" for dinner.  After dinner we topped the evening off with a fun birthday cake and 9 spankings and a pinch to grow an inch!

It was a GREAT day!!

Here is the card I made for my princess. 

I used all kinds of new products on this card.  The stamp set is called Sweet Cake.  Super cute and the BEST thing I love about this card is something you cannot really SEE or SMELL! I added the Vanilla Scented Stampin' Emboss Powder to the swirls on the cupcake.  LOVE that we have these embossing powders. We also carry Melon and Cherry.  How fun is that? I used a VersaMarker so that I could emboss in that tiny area.  She could smell the Vanilla as soon as she opened it. 

Other fun products on this card that I used would be the Sweet Shop DSP.  I love that this DSP can be used for so many occasions.  From Birthday, Valentines or just a Candy kind of card.  Very fun.  I used the new pleated ribbon along with some new Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine.  I even used some Seam Binding ribbon.  Lots of fun things. 

As always, you can find all these fun products in my Online Store. 

This weekend Alexis has her birthday party with friends.  I'll share her birthday invitation soon.  She is having a Doll & Me Tea with her friends at a special tea shop.  I'm not sure who is more excited, her or myself. 

Have a fabulous week!

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Monday Mania

Monday, Monday! Oh how I love Monday's.  It's a new week and how I start a Monday tends to shape the rest of the week.  This morning I was up early and ready to start.  Typically it takes me a few hours to get motivated and get my day started.  This morning I brewed the coffee and had a card completed by 9am.  WHOA! 

I have two cards to share this morning. The first card uses a stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog and is dear to my heart. There are only a few weeks left to purchase this stamp set, Strength & Hope.  Stampin' Up! is donating $2 from every purchase of this set to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. You can find more information about BCRF by visiting www.bcrfcure.org.  Let me share my card:

I started with Pink Pirouette cardstock for this card and stamped the flourish at the bottom of the cardfront.  I added the First Edition Specialty DSP across the top and then again over it but adding a break in the DSP using the Scallop Border punch.  I added Crumb Cake cardstock and stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso ink.   I added Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon across the card and I love the way this silly bow turned out.

The card above was inspired by the IB&C completely.  The catalog is a great way to jump start your creativity when you have creative block.  Let me share a complete CASE from the catalog with VERY few changes made. 

If you look on page 69 of the IB&C you will see this exact card made in Pink Pirouette cardstock.  I loved the look of all the pennants but I didn't need a baby card.  I changed the color to Pool Party and added a few more colors such as Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade.  This card uses the Petite Pennants Builder Punch. Fantastic punch if you love Pennants.  I created the the pennants on the base of the card by using a Big Shot Die.  YES! A must have Big Shot Die Cut that I LOVE is the Petal Cone Die Cut (121810).  I die cut 8 banners from the Petal Cone Die and cut them in half.  The base of my card uses Textured Pool Party cardstock.  The stamped pennants use the First Edition Specialty paper and Vanilla cardstock.  I added a few accessories such as buttons and bling to the pennants and Toothpicks attached to the pennants. 

I hope your Monday flows smoothly all day! Tonight we will say a quick goodbye to Russ once again. It's always something in our world.  Something new everyday.

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Stampin’ Up! Workshop Bloopers

I'm sure any demonstrator that does in home workhshops will understand this story I have for you today! Yesterday I was super excited to share Stampin' Up! with new friends! The hostess of this workshop is super special and had such a GREAT workshop.  I think she is extra special because she reminds me of myself 8 years ago when I decided to become a demonstrator.  You are probably thinking, huh?  When I met her at a previous workshop she was pregnant and excited to bring her third child into the world.  We decided since she had lots of excitement going on in her life and was due in January we would wait to have her workshop once she established routine. I remember telling her before I left that workshop she should have that baby on January 10th.  She DID!  LOL!  That's Alexis birthday!  Anyways, she was a gracious hostess yesterday and we all had a great time laughing and I love, love, love meeting new friends.  I just wish my new friends lived closer.  They are just amazing but live about 1.5 hours away from me.  This is why my sweet hostess reminds me so much of myself.  I think she would make a GREAT demonstrator!

Anyways, as always I had a few bloopers that occurred.  These ALWAYS happen!  It never fails that I forget something but I love being able to figure it out and fix the problem.  We did just that!

The first blooper was when my hostess rolled her Naturals Ivory cardstock through the Big Shot using the Textured Embossing Folder Framed Tulips and miraculously squished a bug on the paper too! That was the FIRST big laugh!  If you look really close at the picture below you will see a black dot on the cardstock in between the two flowers!  That is our new squished bug friend! I gave my hostess my sample.

The next blooper was completely MY fault. I forgot my Decorative Label punch.  I'm sure my face turned a few shades of red and as we passed the cardstock around the table getting ready to make the card I was frantically coming up with the next step on how to fix the problem. 

DING DONG! I had a light bulb moment! This almost had me doing back flips across the table but I knew they would throw me out quickly! While the Decorative Label punch was the ideal solution instead we just tore the Newsprint paper instead of punching it.  I was happy with the result and the card came out very nice.  Check this out:

You can see all the products I used on this card on my previous post HERE. Overall it was a great workshop despite the bloopers!  If you've ever thought about becoming a demonstrator I encourage you to just DO IT! Regardless of the mistakes you will make along the way (and I make TONS of them) it was AWESOME to be with friends stamping. If you want more information on how to become a demonstrator click HERE.  It's a great time to join Stampin' Up! during Sale-a-Bration!

Check out THIS flyer for information on the Starter Kit!  I would LOVE for you to join my great team of women! Email me if you have questions.

Let me share one last card with you that I demonstrated yesterday.  I wanted to demonstrate the beauty of the Create A Cupcake stamp set and the Build a Cupcake punch.  Two great products that coordinate so well together.  It's one of the greatest things about our products.  Coordinating stamps, punches, papers, inks and embellishments.  It's a beautiful thing.

Below is a list of the products used.  You can find all of these products in my Online Store! Tomorrow I will share the last project that we created!

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Naturals White

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Play Date Designer Series Paper, Build a Cupcake punch, Basic Pearls, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon,       2 1/2" Circle Punch, Brights Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

Thanks so much for stopping by today! It's going to be a GREAT week! I know many of you are enjoying Spring Break.  I'm super jealous! What are your plans? I need to come up with something spectacular for my gem blossoms during our Spring Break in April!

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Simple to Glam Cards!

Today I held my Stamp a Stack and we had SO much fun! I was so excited to meet new friends.  Really brought a smile to my face.  Tonight I am going to share one of our Stamp a Stack cards that we completed. 

This simple birthday card can be created in 5 minutes flat.  The beauty of this card is you can stamp it, punch it, adhere it and be done.  When you are mass producing a card you would want something like this.  Funny how I never pick a card like this when I'm mass producing! Silly me! I used the stamp set Bring On the Cake and the Ice Cream Parlor DSP that you can receive for FREE from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  You know from the past that I've never been one to use many bright colors but since the color change that has really changed.  I love how our Brights Collection is a soft bright. I used the Polka Dot Embossing Folder on the Naturals Ivory cardstock.  Embossing Folders are a great way to add texture to your card, especially when you want to keep the card simple.  

Let me share the Glam'd up version!

While I didn't add much to GLAM up the card it's the little things that make it POP! Buttons are just a great addition to any card and Stampin' Up! has such a GREAT collection of buttons! I stamped the cake on Daffodil Delight cardstock and only cut out the cake.  Using Pacific Point cardstock I punched a small piece using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  Hands down my favorite Border punch besides the scallop.  It's versatile and you can change the look of this punch quick!  These elements were popped up using dimensionals.  The last simple embellishment was spraying a little shimmer mist to just the cake embellishment.  It highlights the cake which is the focal point. 

There ya go… Simple to Glam! You can find all these great products in my Online Store!

Now let me update you with a family update! I have a few dilemma's to share tonight!

Alexis is feeling much better and her sassy is back. 

Brandon is still running a fever but low grade.  I think he is on the mend too.  Since he is still running the fever he gets to be my playmate again tomorrow.  This was quite upsetting to him so we broke the news about Alaska.  He had to know the stellar "I didn't miss school award" was not going to happen. Thank you for the many great ideas shared from so many of you.  You are just AMAZING!!! When we sat them down Russ explained that normally he and I would attend this trip together but he was going to be away.  He asked them if they would be my guest and take care of me on the ship.  Their little eyes lit up and for at least 5 minutes they had no headache or fever. Alexis looked at Russ in complete seriousness and said, "Daddy, it's only fair that we go on vacation to Alaska while you're on vacation in Iraq!" My poor prince.  This proved to both of us that Alexis doesn't understand the vacation and that's okay.  It did create a funny reaction from us and now when we talk about his trip we will call it his vacation.  As adults we know the seriousness of the situation but I can leave the kids be.  To be young, sweet and innocent again.

Can you believe it's Friday? Seriously?  What are your big weekend plans?  I have about two days of work to complete in the next 24 hours!  I'm not sure how I will complete it all but somehow it always gets done.  I know that a good pot of coffee, my superwoman cape and thin mints are bound to get me through it. 

XOXOXO

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Birthdays are Special!

Where does a WEEK go?  I think I lost one.  Chalk it up to deadlines and my nose to the cardstock type of week.  I had some classes, and workshops to design and honestly didn't realize I was SO focused that I let a few things run past me. I've also been a little distracted playing in my new ride.  We bought a new car and I am OVER the moon with the dumb thing! Jeesh… If only I had not buried my Superwoman Cape I could get so much more done! 

Both of the kids had a busy week filled with commitments. Yesterday Alexis and I ended our week on a great NOTE! Literally, a music note.  We had a special friend that had a birthday and she is also a BIG Justin Bieber fan.  We celebrated the birthday and then we took off to the movie theater to see JB's Never Say Never movie!  I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't excited about this. There is something about this kid that I just love.  Maybe it's the title of the movie: Never Say Never.  We teach our kids to Never Say Never and that they can do anything they set their minds too.  That is exactly what this kid did and what the movie is about. He dreamed BIG.  I don't care if you don't like him…. although it always surprises me when I hear bad things about him.  I just know that I have a little girl that loves him.  It makes me feel young again when I think about when I was her age and my crush on MJ-Micheal Jackson.  Kinda the same thing.  It's all fun and it gives us something else to focus our attention on. Right now, I need that!

No Justin Bieber birthday party would be complete without a Justin Bieber birthday card. 

It looks like I will be making more of these for Alexis.  She feels she should have her own set and wasn't thrilled we had to give this one away. 

The Music Notes wheel has really gotten a lot of uses.  Right now it's one of my favorite background wheels to use.  Add the Extreme Guitar and you are on your way to making your own Justin card.

I also used the Broadsheet Alphabet for his initials. Alexis says this ROCKED! It's the little things you do for your kids. 

I hope your weekend ROCKS! Since the wind is whippin' outside and does not do anything for my hair I think I will stay inside and get my stampin' groove on and watch Modern Family re-runs!

XOXOXO

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