Celebrate Your Life!

I am very excited about Shelli's new blog! For those of you who have not heard, our very own Shelli Gardner (Co-Founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!) has decided to enter the blogging world and her new blog debuted earlier this week. You can find it at www.soshelli.com. In addition to sharing a part of her world with us, she will also post periodic creative challenges that we can participate in! I've decided to enter her first one (create something with the word "Celebrate" in it), and here is the card I made:

I had a great time with this card! Of course, the family across the bottom (stamped with the All in the Family stamp set) represents me and all the wonderful men in my life... my husband and three sons. In order to line them all up properly, I had to get real friendly with my Stamp-a-ma-jig , as you can imagine! (Be sure and visit my Stamp-a-ma-jig tutorial for a quick lesson in how to use this incredible tool!) I also decided to showcase some of the new Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss In Colors - available to you on August 11th! And check out that GORGEOUS new Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain ribbon!! Isn't it fabulous?! ...and if you've been keeping up with my blog, you know that this ribbon is included in my August Ribbon Share! We got a little bit of it at Convention (yippee!), so I thought I'd give you another sneak peek!

For the sentiment, I used A Little Birthday Cheer and Define Your Life, inking up only the words I wanted using my Stampin' Write markers.

I think this card front would also look darling in a simple frame to keep on my desk - or my husband's - as a reminder of what is truly the most important part of our lives. I hope you've enjoyed it as well!

Full Recipe:
Stamp Sets: All in the Family, A Little Birthday Cheer, Define Your Life
Ink: Black StazOn, Pacific Point, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Accessories: Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Glue Dots
Tools: Word Window punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1-3/8", 1-1/4", and 1/16" Circle punches, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Did Someone Ask for YoYo Yellow?

The Skool Teacher is still MIA - but I know she'll turn up eventually as she's the winner of my earlier blog candy! And I do intend to make a card using the More Mustard that she has trouble with. But since I haven't heard from her yet, I thought I'd take an opportunity to offer a suggestion on the #1 listed color challenge - YoYo Yellow! It seems that so many of you have a hard time with this color, so I made it a priority to make something with it as soon as possible.

I will start by admitting that this is probably my least used color as well. I'm not much for bold and bright colors in general, but when I do use them, I never let them overwhelm my cards. I usually only use splashes to brighten up the look. Here, as you can see, I used a YoYo Yellow base, but toned it down by adding a layer of Close to Cocoa and some Pumpkin Pie from the Jersey Shore DSP. I think those colors are also appropriate since I'm using a giraffe here! And because I intend to give this to a darling little girl (I won't mention who in case she sees this before it arrives!), I decided to add a little bit of bling as shown below:

These are some Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads... there's one in the sentiment as well. Aren't they cute? I'd say this giraffe is STYLIN'...

I will work on some other cards with this difficult color, as it is my aim to make those of you who are as challenged as I am in the YoYo Yellow department go "Ahhhhhh! Now I LIKE it!" Just let me know when I hit the winning look! :)

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Wild About You
Ink: YoYo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: YoYo Yellow, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Jersey Shore DSP, Whisper White
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain ribbon, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads
Tools: Large Oval punch, Dimensionals

Let's eScape!

First of all, check out what my wonderful friend and neighbor, Melanie, brought me yesterday...

Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?! These beautiful hydrangeas are growing in her backyard (I think I'd just have to sit out there and stare at them all day) and what joy I felt when she stood on my doorstep with these in her outstretched hand... for no other reason than she was thinking of me. Moments like this - kind, thoughtful gestures - just don't happen enough anymore. That's why I am so tickled about what Stampin' Up! is doing in June!!

I have told all of you many times before that I'm an old-fashioned girl... that I am convinced I was born in the wrong generation... that I long for times when life was slower - no computers, no cell phones, no cars. Yes, I've grown accustomed to these things, just like everyone else. And yes, my life would be difficult if I had to give up these modern conveniences. But I would do it in a heartbeat and I would gladly adjust!

That's why I'm happy to report that Stampin' Up! has dedicated the entire month of June toward an eScape! This is where we will break free from the "e", which means connecting with loved ones through means other than email and electronic devices! The flyer at left says it best (click on it to view it full size): Remember when you got letters in your mailbox instead of your inbox?

Let me tell you a story... (and I promise to be brief). Back in 2003, I decided to find a PenPal. A TRUE PenPal - one that would write letters instead of sending emails. I was tired of receiving just junk and bills in my mailbox, and I wanted to feel the excitement and anticipation about walking out there. So I found an Internet site that lists ads from other people looking for PenPals. Long story short (cuz I promised), I found one. Her name is Audrey and she lives in Scotland. We connected instantly, and here we are, 5 years later just as close as any two best friends who lived next door to each other. (To make this fairy-tale story even better (and just a tad longer), we will finally meet each other face-to-face at the end of June when she will travel to the States with her husband and two daughters to stay with us for a couple weeks! I cannot tell you how excited I am!!!)

So, in a nutshell, I am a FIRM believer in sending hand-written correspondance and I am SO excited that Stampin' Up! is dedicating a whole month to reconnecting with friends and loved ones through homemade cards! To help us do this, Stampin' Up! is offering the following special eScape bundle during the month of June... it reflects a 25% discount on the items in the bundle! Wow!!

Item	Page #	Regular Price
Love Notes Assortment	p. 167	$8.95
Circle of Friendship Stamp Set	p. 143	$17.95
Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad	p. 165	$5.25
Very Vanilla 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon	p. 191	$7.95
	Regular Total	$40.10
	eScape Bundle Price	$30.00

Let me know if you would like to purchase this bundle - I can accept payment via credit card or PayPal, and I can have these goodies shipped directly to your door. And might I also suggest considering the 1-3/8 and/or 1-1/4 Circle Punches (p. 180, $15.95 each), as they go tremendously well with this Circle of Friendship stamp set!

In addition, Stampin' Up! has declared June 25, 2008 as eScape day - a day to put away our cell phones and laptops and focus on reconnecting with our "wireless network." I just LOVE IT!! I guarantee you won't see a new blog post from me that day!!

CHALLENGE
Here's my goal for the month of June... I'm wondering who among you would like to join me on this: I am going to send out 20 homemade cards during the month of June. They may not all be different - but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I will be telling 20 of my loved ones that I am thinking about them and halted my busy life long enough to let them know... I think my first card will be for Melanie.

Remember folks... people can't put a phone call on their mantle for display, and they typically don't print out emails to pin up on the fridge.

...but a homemade card? You bet.

A Challenge Became a Friend

Well, it all began with a challenge. I decided I would try my hand at one of the challenges over at Splitcoast. I always see the card sketches and thought it might be fun... so I tried this sketch. And this was the card I ended up with...

...only, I don't like it. I think it's lopsided and too heavy on the right. I like the way the Priceless stamps look all random on the Whisper White strip, and I like how the sentiment from Short & Sweet fits on the Large Oval punch (I had to use my Stampin' Write marker and position that by hand), but I just don't think this card is up to par. Disappointing.

But alas, not all is lost, I did like the color scheme I used! It's Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, and Barely Banana. So I just played around some more and created the two cards below instead!


Totally different, but I like these much better... and even though they don't exactly "fit" the challenge, at least they were inspired by the one that does... does that count? :)

The strip across the bottom comes from the Hostess Level I set called A Little Bit of Happiness, and I colored them with my Blender Pens and classic ink pad lids. I mounted the strip onto some textured cardstock that has been pierced and sponged. The beautiful dear friend sentiment comes from All Holidays and is stamped with Lavender Lace ink on both cards. And some Whisper White Taffeta ribbon adds some balance. (speaking of Taffeta ribbon, I do still have some openings in my Ribbon Share... I'll be placing that order on April 20th, so be sure to get in on it before then!)

Finally, here is one more card that I made like this, only in a slightly different color scheme... this one is Apricot Appeal with Ruby Red and Certainly Celery.

I took the photo next to the envelope I mailed it in (it's on its way to my dear friend in Scotland - hope she gets it before she sees this post!) because I wanted to show you how I use the same stamp on the flap of the envelope. This works nicely given the shape of that stamp.

So there you have it... what started as a challenge turned into a dear friend!