I used the Tea Shoppe Stamp set along with the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper.  Love these colors and I love Blush Blossom.  Super pretty and soft. 

You can find all these great products in my Online Store.

Have a TEA-RIFIC Day!

XOXOXO

Good morning stampers!

I'm sitting at my desk waiting for little snowflakes to fall from the sky.  They say it's in the forecast today.  We'll see if the weather guy gets it right today.

Wanted to give a quick update on how we're doing on the home front and then share my little card I have for you.  Some of you have asked how the transition is going and if the Prince was doing okay.  I'm happy to report our little family is doing very well.  There have been many bumps in the road but the big picture is GOOD.  Brandon and Russ are still trying to mend a few wounds from his absence but I can see it's coming along quite well.  Russ jumped in with both feet helping Brandon in Cub Scouts and school activities and it's just what Brandon needed.  You can still see the angry face on Brandon at times but that will soon heal and the one thing that never changed is the unconditional love from both of us.  Both of the kids made it into the school Spelling B last week.  Russ was able to take off work to see the kids in action.  We were so excited to tell the kids that Russ was able to get the time off.  When I told Brandon that he was coming he started to cry.  I didn't understand at first and then he said, "Mama, if he comes and I misspell the first word Daddy will have wasted his time.  This prompted a quick family discussion on EXPECTATIONS. I quickly lowered the bar and it seemed to take a ton of pressure off both of the kids.  Who knew? Russ and I were just over the moon they had MADE it into the Spelling B and we drove this point home to both of them.   Both of the kids did great. Brandon took 4th place in his age group and Alexis took 3rd place.  Needless to say, our cheeks hurt from smiling that day.   Russ has also been busy having tea parties with Alexis and is helping her build and craft together "stuff" for her American Girl Doll.  I love it. The time he spends with the kids gives me time to step away and let them be with just him.  It's been harder than I thought keeping my nose out of their business because I've been the one parent in control for so long.  I know that the time they spend together alone and without my 2 cents is good and the kids see that DADDY is BACK. Again, thank you for asking about my little family. 

Now, let's chat about stamps!

Boy oh Boy I love how this stamp set, Fresh Vintage compliments the Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper.  It's so beautiful and the Poppy Parade cardstock is what made this card POP.  I used the pretty Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad pack as well on this card and of course I HAD to throw in a little First Edition DSP.  It's clearly an addiction.  The Ribbon and Brad pack is a FREEBIE item from the Sale-a-bration catalog. The brads are super cute and the ribbon is pretty and delicate. The sentiment Inspire, Create, and Dream comes from the Loving Thoughts stamp set. GREAT set if you like to make banners.  It's a perfect fit. 

Lastly, here is a little MDS news!

There are new beautiful My Digital Studio downloads for you to see.  Click HERE to view them. Download your FREE copy of My Digital Studio today. Click HERE to get it. I'm getting ready to work on Valentines using My Digital Studio.  I will share once the design is complete.  There are MANY great downloads to use for Valentines Day.  If you are local to the Northern VA area I just put an MDS class on my schedule.  You can check out my class schedule at the top of my blog.  It's finally been updated and more classes are coming.  I can officially say… "She's back!" 

XOXOXO

I see a few snowflakes falling.  Looks like a peaceful day. 

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Good morning Stamping friends! It feels like a Monday to me.  It was great to have that long weekend.  Now I'm sitting at an airport waiting on my NEW flight.  Yes, had a little flight change because I missed my original flight this morning due to the GREAT traffic on 95 this morning.  I just love the traffic here.  

Now I'm sitting in the USO at the airport and must say this is a GREAT place for military members.  I have a comfy seat, free wifi, all kinds of great food and drinks as well as a nice big TV!  No wonder Russ always likes to visit these when he fly's.  

I'm trying to head to San Antonio for the week for the big Leadership Conference.  I am really excited to see all my friends.  I hope to keep you informed of some of the fun things we are doing.  I even brought cards to work on in my hotel room.  I haven't done that in YEARS.   

Let me share this Valentine I made.  

I'm still enjoying the P.S. I Love You stamp set.  I love all the sentiments so much that I decided to use more than one on this card.  I decided to make a mini banner by stamping each of the sentiments onto a 1/2 strip of Naturals Ivory CS.  I used the cute mini clothes pins and connected the mini banners onto the Linen Thread so they would hang across.  I used the Heart Framelits to cut the large heart and placed the First Edition DSP onto the inside piece of the card base.  I feel like I cannot make a card without using that DSP.  It's so fun to use.  I also stamped the Netting Background stamp onto the Real Red cardstock.  You can barely see it but I like that it's lightly seen.  I think he will enjoy this card.  I'm getting them all stacked up and  ready to swarm him with love. 

You can find all these fun products on my website HERE.  Go browse awhile and look at the pretties in there.  Lots and Lots of fun stuff.  

Have a GREAT week.  

XOXOXO

Over the next few days I'm going to share the start of my blitz.  I'm going to try and start working on a few kid Valentine projects this weekend, too.  It's always best to come up with these things early.  Not that I am one to talk about being on time.  I am just now getting my Christmas cards out.  I like to spread the Christmas cheer a little longer than others.  

This card uses a fun stamp set called P.S. I love You.  Love the name, Love the set.  This set has 15 stamps in it.  You can get the clear set for just  $27.95! Heck of a deal if you ask me.  Besides, who can put a price tag on something when you are making it for your lover? Check it out:

Anyways, I started this card with a Very Vanilla card base.  I then adhered the First Edition DSP to the front of the card and used my snazzy Edgelits Die and cut the bottom.  Then I added a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to the backside of the front panel and embossed with the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder.  WOW! Just a little snazzy texture embossing packs a HARD punch on this card.  I love it.  

I cut my cool hearts using the Hearts Collection Framelits Die.  LOVE it.  I did a little sewing down the middle on two of the hearts.  I liked how that turned out.  Lastly I added my Cherry Cobbler buttons and a little Blushing Bride Smooch Spray. WOW, love that spray.  It's beautiful.  

Even though it had a little sewing machine action on the card it was still pretty simple.  Wanna know my FAVORITE thing about this stamp set? The fonts! You will love the fonts of the sentiments.  No worries, I pushed the limits on this set last night.  More ideas coming your way with this set.  

If you want this set for yourself, click HERE!  I think it's a must have this Love Season! If you want to check out more of the Occasions Mini, Click HERE!

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!

Today is the first day I've felt HUMAN! Today I fee FANTASTIC! Over the weekend I thought I was dying from a sinus infection.  The bottom line is I figured out I cannot cure myself.  Grr! I had to drag myself into the Doctor's office over the weekend because I just felt terrible.  It's amazing what a good antibiotic can do. 

Today I jumped into my stamp room and stamped away.  YIPPIE! I couldn't stop with this card above.  I just kept adding new fun things.  Holy COW the products are fantastic to work with from the new Occasions Mini.  I did add a little sneak peek of a Sale-a-Bration set. 

I used the Attic Boutique Designer Paper with the Attic Boutique Side Notes (MUST HAVE!) and the new Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon.  It's all so pretty.  Very feminine.  The crown comes from an oldie but a goodie stamp set called Artistic Etchings.  This is a stamp set I have always adored.  I stamped the crown with VersaMark and then embossed the image using the Cherry Cobbler embossing powder.  What a rich looking powder.  I used it again on the sentiment.  The sentiment comes from the set Loving Thoughts.  Beautiful sentiments in this set.  I added a few pearls, ribbon and buttons just because we can! Overall, this card made me happy.   You can find all these beautiful products in my online store.  I hope you'll visit soon. 

Tomorrow is my little girls 9th Birthday.  I can't wait to share her Birthday Card with you! We have a big day planned for her.

XOXOXO

Our Christmas was extra special with Russ home and being in Florida with all my family.  The kids had a blast and seemed pretty happy with everything Santa and family had given them.  They played non stop with their cousins and I'm always grateful for how well they get along. Here are a few photos of the kids and my mom while we were in Florida. 

We are unpacked and all the Christmas decorations are put away until next year.  Sometimes I think Christmas is just a blur.  I hate that.  I want the spirit and season of Christmas to last forever.  The only thing I could do without is the sweets that come with it.

With all the craziness that has been going on in our little world the one thing that has been lacking is the stamping.  Today is the first day in three weeks that I came down into my stamp room and was ready to put a few stamps and ink together.  I felt the creative block coming on pretty strong but I finally pushed forward and just started grabbing new products from the Occasions Mini to play with.  This new mini is one of the best in my book.  Lots of great products.  The excitement of playing with the new stuff brought back all my warm fuzzies I have for Stampin' Up! products and the company.  I'm working on a plan to get back to my normal business schedule and start putting classes/workshops together again.  It's been a long time but I wouldn't change a thing. It's just time to get busy again!

I'm excited to show you what happened in my stamp room today.  Let me share!

As I was playing with all the new products in my room the one thing I kept saying over and over was WOW, I love this paper.  Stampin' Up! really tickled me pink with all the new DSP they have in the Occasions Mini.  It's just girlie and pretty. The base of the card is where the FUN begins.  I folded a piece of pool party cardstock in half and used my new Edgelits Die called Adorning Accents and the new Adorning Accents Embossing Folders. WOW WEE what a difference these little things can make to a card.  This card became elegant in a matter of seconds!  I think you have to have one!!  I used the new stamp set Apothecary Art.  Lucky for you I don't have to pronounce this set.  My tongue does not like to say Apothecary!  The beauty of this stamp set is how it coordinates with the Framelits Labels Collection on page 6 of your mini.  WOW. Love this label and love these dies.  I stamped the image with VersaMark onto Naturals White cardstock and then embossed the image with Pewter powder.  I colored in the small flowers with a blender pen and made this very simple. I used the Attic Boutique DSP which is stunning and pared it with the Pleated Satin Ribbon that makes me smile every time I touch it.  Gone are the days of pleating my own ribbon while I have this beautiful ribbon on hand.  I used the Pear Pizzazz ribbon. If you look closely enough you will notice that I used the scallop edge from Adorning Accents Edgelits  under my pretty Designer Series Paper too.  I dazzled the card with a few tiny pearls and a few of the new biggie ones too.  Last thing I added was a little shimmer and my Spritzer tool with Early Espresso and Pool Party markers.  Viola! Kimberly STAMPED!!

Hopefully by seeing all of these exciting new products you are ready for a few yourself.  You can find them all HERE! I like to call this my little Vintage Shop.  Boy is it filled with lots of things I love.  

I'm getting ready to turn the lights out for a few hours and then I'm coming back tonight to play a little more.  That's HOW excited I am!! 

XOXOXO

We had to take our doggie to the Vet tonight too.  I have a little 4lb Chihuahua and she has been itching herself to death.  We took her in and we have medicine to help her.  We were there for 2.5 hours.  Good Grief!!

Now it's 11pm and I'm just starting to work a bit in my office.  Oh no.  LOL! It's not like this hasn't happened before, but I'm pretty pooped from the excitement of the day. I'm excited to share a new Halloween treat with you. 

If you have been following my blog for a bit you know I have a Halloween tree and I love to decorate it each year. Last year we made the pretty cones with ribbon.  This year we took a little different approach and I really like them.  Let me share.

All of these projects were made using Stampin' Up!'s great Halloween products.  I used a ton of products on all of these.  I will list for you below and I will be showing a video later this week on assembly.  The great thing about making projects like these is that you can pull them out year after year.  It's fun to look back at the other ornaments I've made through the years. 

Here is a list of products that was used and you can find all these projects in my spooky Online Store. 

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370), Piece of Poison (123754), Dark & Dreary (121151), Out on a Limb (123824), Creative Elements (122647), Wicked Cool (120600). 

Accessories: Pick Your Poison Quick Accents (124263), 3/8" Velvet Stitched Ribbon (125637), Brights Buttons (119747), Vintage Trinkets (118764), First Edition Specialty (121878, Simply Score Tool (122334), White Bakers Twine (124262), Basic Rhinestones (119246), Fine Galaxy Glitter-Champagne (114286), Scallop Squares Duo Sizzix Die Cut (120903), Spritzer Tool (107066), Black Marker (100082) & a Glue Gun!

While there are lots of products used for this project they are easy and fun to make. 

Check back in a few days for a tutorial and make sure you have a Simply Scored Tool on hand.  You can find this great product in the Holiday Mini and in my Online Store. 

Make sure to check the right side bar of my blog. There are THREE NEW specials to check out! WOW!

Until tomorrow…

XOXOXO

First a new Promotion from Stampin' Up!-

Sign up to be a demonstrator between now and October 31st and you will receive a Big Shot included with your KIT! Already have a Big Shot? No worries, you can choose $100 in FREE products! WOW.  Now is a GREAT time to become a demonstrator.  Earn a little cash for the holidays or become a hobby demonstrator and enjoy some of the best crafting supplies around.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with Stampin' Up!  You can read more about becoming a demonstrator on my Join My Team page.  If you have questions, please never hesitate to ask. 

Normally this time of year I am floating around a room filled with women raising money for Breast Cancer research. This year marks the Sixth Year of Stampin' for a Cure in Colorado Springs, Co.  My team of demonstrators as well as a few not on my team gather together and work hard to come up with projects, silent auctions, and much much more to make this day the best that it can be.  This is the first one I am missing.  It feels very strange not being there but I am confident they are doing an outstanding job.  I've skyped in once today to see all the fun they are having.  Tried not to cry as I miss them all so much.  I could hear the excitement in the background and could see blurry smiles on the faces of both customers and demonstrators.  That makes my heart pound.  Due to our circumstances with the Prince away, I thought it would be best not to travel. There will be many more.  I also plan to start a Stampin' for a Cure event here in my local area.  The only reason I didn't do it this year was because I spent 6 months feeling sorry for myself.  Once I found Kimberly again it was a little late to get it going.  No worries, next year will be great.

October 1st is also World Card Making day.  It's a day to create until your fingers cramp.  Here are a few pieces of inspiration for you. 

This card uses the cute stamp set called Out on a Limb (#123824).  I also used the Pick Your Poison DSP #(124001).  Fun card for Halloween.  My favorite image besides the witch are the clouds. Super cute.

This card is a beauty. Plus it has a Faux Metal Technique that was used with the witches boots.  The added toole just makes it sassy vintage. Lots of stamp sets on this card: Teeny Tiny Wishes(#115370), Wicked Cool (#120600), Piece of Poison (#123754). Also used on this card is the First Edition Specialty (#121878). 

You can find all these fantastic products in my spooky Online Store.  Enjoy World Card Making day and I hope to update you later with how the Stampin' for a Cure event is going. 

XOXOXO

I put together a video to make the one with the Antique Frame I showed you yesterday.  You can find these frames at any of your craft stores near you. 

I mentioned yesterday I had a light bulb moment.  I think my light bulb died during that moment because my cool idea did not work.  I was hoping to make the backside look a little cleaner and you will see in the video it's not bad, but I am sure there is a way to make it better.  I get frustrated when something doesn't go the way I had planned, but I am sure we all feel this way, right? LOL!  

Here is another pin cushion using the Beau Chateau fabric.  I love this one because you can see the chicken.  Super pretty and vintage looking.  

Below is the video I promised. I hope this helps you in your quest of making lots of pretty pin cushions. I would love to see your cushions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvohIu0Yxjg

Have a FANTASTIC Thursday!