Another Back to School Project

Last year my son and the bus driver became very good friends. Not because they were kindred souls, but because my son spent so much time in the "trouble" seat right behind the driver. This year, in an attempt to get the year off to a better start (and possibly as a bribe) I made the driver this card. Lynn Pratt had the tutorial for sale on her site, and I just couldn't say no. Isn't it adorable? Anyway, we will be giving this and a Butterfinger bar (It's yellow mom...it matches the card) to our favorite driver tomorrow. I hope Jay at least gets to sit in the third row this year :)

First Day of School!!!

Ok, can I just a get a Hurray from all those stressed out mom's who feel like their kids have done nothing but fight all summer long? HURRAY!!!! I was so glad to see the kids go back to school this year. With one in Middle School and one in 1st grade, I thought I couldn't go wrong sweetening up the teachers a bit with a homemade "start the year off right" gift. This was the card that went inside. Each one has the respective school colors on it. I CASED this from someone, but I can't remember for the life of me who it was. So, if it is yours (or you know whose it is) please remind me so I can give them credit!

Wicked Cool Card

I love this stamp set! I am married to a Mainer, and for those of you who know one...everything is Wicked......It always makes me laugh just to see the name. I saw this card somewhere, but of course now I can't find it. I thought it was so cute that the witches were hanging out behind the wall. And the DSP, well these are the perfect colors for Halloween. I can't wait to get crafting with a few more sheets of this. I have a couple of projects up my sleeve!

Funky Friday Color Challenge

Who in the world picks these colors? This weeks challenge was Chocolate Chip, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, and Certainly Celery. Now, I did use MDS to make the card this week, but I had a good reason. Pale Plum is no longer a current color in the American catalog, so i had no paper, ink, or even a marker for this challenge. Luckily MDS has all the colors, old and new, so I was still able to participate. Not my favorite, as usual......but not bad. I'm sure you can do so much better than I can, so don't forget to join us at the Funky Friday challenge.

Blue Tree

I have no idea when I made this card. I know it was at a downline meeting (which has been quite a while......almost all of my side-line demos have moved away so our downline meetings now just consist of me and my upline, Sara). I don't know why I never posted this. I really like this card. Something about the blue tree just looks right to me. What do you think?

My digital Studio Scrapbook

Ok, so I've been busy adjusting to my kids being home. After being alone for the past two months it has been difficult to get to used to hear the word MOM screamed every few minutes. Needless to say I haven't had a whole lot of time to spend in my stamping room. Unfortunately that means you get to see some old projects I never got around to posting. This first project is an entire scrapbook I put together for our local Spouse's Club. Every year they do the Crown Jewel Bazzaar, and someone is named historian and puts together the history. Well, I wasn't the historian, but I was asked to help. So, this is what I came up with. I think the coolest part of this entire project was that My Digital Studio gave me an option to save this book as a video. I didn't have to do anything! Pretty cool huh?

Royal Blog Tour....Vote for the Honorary Queens

Downrange Christmas Cards for the Girls

One of the new stamp sets in the catalog just screamed at me to buy it. It is the Greeting Card Kids. I absolutely love this set. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, until Janet said she wanted to make something different for the three women that were stationed with her husband in Afghanistan. While I know how hard it is for anyone to be away from their families at Christmas, I can't help but think that it would be even worse to be a woman and be downrange during the holidays. After all, for the most part, we are the holders of the traditions. Anyway, I thought this stamp set would make the perfect cards. I hope they enjoy them. What they are doing is so important. I for one know I appreciate their sacrifice. These three little cards were the least I could do.

VC Rocks Blog Hop

It's time again for another (and unfortunately our last for this year) VC Rocks blog hop. Our guidance for this tour was to pick something out of the new catalog and create.....Well, I just had to show you the Greeting Card Kids stamp set and the new crocheted ribbon we have. This will be my Mom's Christmas Card that she sends out this year. Every year I make her a stack of Christmas Cards so she can send them to her friends at Christmas. Something about this cute little girl just screamed at me, so I had to use her. The background is from the Patterned DSP available in the catalog. This is such a great thing. No longer do you have to buy an entire pack of one color, but instead they come in a pad based on color families. The little girl is water colored with markers and the Aqua Painter on our cold pressed Watercolor paper and of course I had to throw in a little bit of my new favorite color, Early Espresso. I think all in all this card turned out great. Now I just need to decide which sentiment to put inside. Any suggestions?


Now, if you think this was a cool project, wait until you see Marisol's. And if you thought this was kind of lame...don't give up....I promise you the next stop is better! Thanks for stopping by, and happy hopping!

Funky Friday Sketch Challenge

Ok, as usual, I completely forgot about this weeks Funky Friday until about 10 PM on Thursday night. Thank goodness for MDS! Here is my card.
Don't forget you can play along with us here,

Christmas Cards going Downrange

Not all the Christmas cards I have been making lately have been to sell. One of my good friends, Janet, asked me to help her put together 45 Christmas cards for her husband's unit who is stationed in Afghanistan. Of course I said yes! We did use some retired colors and stamps, but I'm sure the guys (and three girls) who will be receiving these won't mind. I do have to give Janet all the credit on stringing the little doodads on the side. I was present when she was doing it, and I heard her complain...It wasn't an easy task let me tell you. I do think they turned out wonderful, and it will mean so much to these soldiers that someone back home was thinking of them at Christmas time.

Christmas Cards...yet Again

These cards are actually a CASE of myself. I made these last November for the Stampin Up! European Convention as Swaps. I thought I may be pushing it with the purple though, so these are more traditional green. I absolutely love the way the Garden Green and Wild Wasabi compliment each other. Wild Wasabi was on it's way out when I was first introduced to Stampin' Up!, and I never really got to use it. I'm so glad they decided to bring it back so I can enjoy the color now!

More Christmas Cards

These cards are definitely not classic Christmas colors, but something about the Serene Snowflakes Stamp set just screamed out for a different color combination than typical green and red. I love how easy the embossing folder made the background on this card...and it made it so easy to line up my three squares. I'm all for anything that makes my life easy.

I forgot to mention yesterday, if you are interested in any of the boxes of cards you see, just drop me a line. The cost is $15 for 10 cards and includes the envelopes. Shipping will be extra. I am only planning on making one of each set of cards, so if you see something you like, you better let me know quickly before they are gone!

It's beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Ok, maybe not outside (although here in Germany it sure looks a lot like Fall!), but in my stamp room I've been doing Christmas for a while. I sure wish Santa could spare some elves to help me! A friend of mine had a great idea, she suggested I pre-make Christmas cards to sell at an upcoming craft fair this fall. I thought, sure, why not.....now that I'm elbows deep in glitter, I'm starting to think I may have lost my mind. I've never been a traditional Christmas kind of girl, so when I saw this card on Lee Conrey's blog, I had to give it a try. I will admit, that after the glittering phase I look like Edward from Twilight......and it will probably take a week to wear off all the glitter...but I still think these cards look phenomenal. If you like them make sure you leave Lee a comment. She was so kind to allow me to CASE it.

Operation Hero Watch Home Stretch

I'm asking for your help one more time. We have managed to get cards from almost all 50 states....but I"m still in need of a few more.
South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhodes Island, Connecticut. Otherwise we got a card from every state....including Alaska and Hawaii.

If you know of anyone who lives in one of these states, or if any of you will be traveling through one of these states....please consider sending my kids a card, letter or postcard thanking them for allowing their daddy to go to Afghanistan to protect each of us. It would mean so much to them. For those of you who have already participated.....Please know my sincerest gratitude goes out to each of you.

Our address is

Katie and Jay Mayou
CMR 411 Box 6617
APO, AE 09112

If you would like to know more about Operation Hero Watch, please visit here.

Last day of my Surgery Recovery

Well, tomorrow I have to go back to work. Can you imagine how difficult that is going to be after a month off to recover from my surgery? At least my kids aren't home quite yet.....they will be here in another week. I figured I better get some stuff made in advance for the workshops I have coming up, so I created these FABULOUS little boxes we learned how to make at last year's European Stampin' Up! Convention in Frankfurt (this year's convention is in England and I'm still waiting to hear if I will be allowed to go...keep your fingers crossed!). They are super easy to make....while I don't have any pictures, I think I can give you the steps easily enough.
1. Cut two pieces of Cardstock 2" x 10"
2. Score every 2" along the 10" side of both pieces
3. Cross the two scored pieces on the third square and secure in the middle (so they look like an X)
4. Fold all the score lines up to make the box.
5. to secure either punch a hole in all four flaps and run a ribbon through, or glue the flaps together and decorate the top (that's what I did for these boxes).
They are very quick, and a lot of fun to make. And they are perfect to put an incentive stamp and a small ink pad inside for hostess gifts or game prizes or just add candy for a quick and easy gift for a friend. Let me know if you give them a try!

It's a 3D weekend

A week or so ago, I was at my Upline, Sara's, house and she had these adorable fold out little albums. I thought they were so cute, I begged her to show me how to make them. We used retired paper and card stock and accessories, but I made one of these as a hostess gift for my workshop last weekend. Isn't it so cute. My hostess is moving out of Germany shortly and she wanted a picture frame to remember her friends by. We made the coaster frames I showed you earlier this week, but I thought this little fold out album would be a great place for her to keep her pictures as well. This was super simple, and it turned out so cute. Unfortunately, Sara is the tutorial master, so I have no idea where the directions came from........she told me how to do it out of her head. Maybe if I ask her really nicely she will write them down for me and I can share them with all of you! Until then, if one of you knows where the directions for this project are, could you please share? Thanks!!!

UPDATE: If you have access to Stampin Connection (for Demo's Only) the directions can be found here.

Funky Friday....Anything But a Square Challenge!

This weeks challenge I promised I would do better than last week, and I believe I have. Last week's card was absolutely atrocious!!! This week's entry I love. I used a Template created by Lynn Pratt to make this cute boot. Now Lynn calls it a Hiking boot, but as any of you with Military spouses or family members know....this is definitely a combat boot! (although I'm sure if Matt ever tied his boots with a bow like this he would be laughed out of the Air Force!) I figured with all the workshops I have coming up for groups of wives whose husband's are deployed, this would be a fun card to make. If you would like to give one of these a try yourself, you can find them on Lynn's blog here. Oh, and not only can you make a combat boot, but you can also make an ice skate, a stocking, or The Old Lady who lived in a Shoe house. Make sure you check it out.

My new Bag.....and an Extra!

Ok, I don't sew....I mean, I don't even have a sewing machine here in Germany with me (I do have one...but I left it in storage when we left the states). My mom tried to teach me how to sew, but no matter what she did, I always ended up messing up her machine.....the tension would break, the bobbin would tangle, the needle would fly off, something would happen. I think when I finally gave up trying to learn, My mother was relieved. This is why, when my good friend Janet suggested I come over to her house and learn how to quilt that I thought she might be insane. Even after I explained my childhood issues with the sewing machine she still insisted. So, One day last week, I headed over to her house, Scallop Square Die in tow. Well, I may not be the world's greatest quilter, but I made one of the Scallop Square Rag Bags. I think it turned out so awesome!!! Of course, her 14 yr old daughter had to show me up by making one twice as big as mine....but still. I made this all by myself (ok, Janet may have helped a little ::grin::). So anyway, Tell me what you think? I may not make too many of these myself, but I think Janet will. She already was pulling out scraps trying to figure out who she could make some of these bags for!


Oh, you want to know what I meant about an extra? Well while I was at Janet's I met the man of my dreams. He's absolutely gorgeous and even though I'm already married, I couldn't stand not to bring him home with me. (Ok Matt, I'm only kidding). Janet had a tiny 3lb bundle of joy at her house that her cat's were wreaking havoc on....so she needed to find him a new home. He was so cute and loveable that I had to bring him home to see how Charley and Dia liked him. Well, so far so good, so I want you to meet the new man in my life.......TWITCHY!!!!

Time to Rock On Dude

I broke out another NEW Stamp Set. This one is called Grunge Rock, and I bought it because I thought it would go great with Extreme Elements....(It does by the way!). Since this was the first time I had used it, I thought it would be best if I used it alone. I also used our new color Daffodil Delight. I love this yellow. It's bright enough to stand out, but not so bright that your blinded (Like our Yo Yo Yellow used to). I really like the way this card turned out and thought it would be good for a teenage boy, maybe as a birthday card. Anyone have any other ideas?

Aviary Card

Ok, by now you have all had plenty of time to drool over, and hopefully place an order, from the new catalog. (If you need help with the second item, just give me a call or drop me a line and I'll be happy to help you. ) I too have spent way too much time debating over what new products and stamp sets I wanted. I finally placed my order, received my goodies and am just now getting to the point where I can play with them.

This card is from the new set Aviary. Personally the only reason I bought this set was because of the little owl. He is just so darn cute! I couldn't stand to just let him sit there in the box, so I broke him out. I also used a new tool from the new catalog......the Color Coach....this remarkable little deck of cards is a must have for any stamper. You choose a color you would like and it has two color combinations as well as a complimentary color listed on the back of the card. I never would have put Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, and Old Olive together, but thanks to my Color Coach, this card came out perfect. Don't you agree?

Picture Frame Request

At my workshop this past weekend, I also had a request for a Picture frame. The woman who hosted will be leaving Germany here shortly and she wanted something to put a picture of all her friends in. I decided to make a coaster frame. This holds a 4 x 6 picture and will look adorable on her desk or anywhere she would like to put it. Don't you think so too?

Yesterday's Workshop Card

I'm not sure why, but lately I have been all about Watercolor Paper and the Aqua Painter. So, when I had to prep a card for yesterday's workshop, I of course grabbed both of those. I used the new stamp set blowing kisses. My hostess had asked for a card the kids could send downrange to their dad. Since not everyone that came had a husband downrange, I decided to make the card work for anyone. So, this is what I came up with. I did realize, after I made the sample, that the ribbon and the card stock didn't match (old olive ribbon and Always Artichoke Card Stock) so I corrected that with the cards everyone else made. This is such a cute and sweet stamp set....I definitely am glad I bought it!

A Card for Katie's BFF

Have you ever bought a stamp set, and then sat there looking at it wondering why in the world you did that? Well, Best Bots forever is one of those sets for me. I had no idea what to do with this set. First of all, it comes with lots of pieces. I can never get those things to line up, no matter how hard I try. Secondly I am not really a robot person. So, when it came time to make something with this set, I was totally stumped. I finally realized that Katie's best friend moved to the states this summer, and maybe Katie would like to send her a card. So, I came up with this card. It isn't my favorite, but it isn't horrible either. Like the Farmer says in Babe...."That'll do, Pig. "

Funky Friday Black and White Card

How many times do you get to see our rejects? Well today you get to see mine. This week for the Funky Friday Challenge we were asked to make a Black and White card. I love black and white cards. I have come up with some really great ones (in my humble opinion) Like this, or this, or maybe this........but no....I came up with today's card. Now, I will partially blame it on the fact that I haven't been stamping a ton lately. And I did have an Operation (yes, it was almost a month ago, but what good is having one if you can't milk it for all it's worth!) so maybe I can use that as an excuse. Anyway, since I don't really have enough time to work on another one.....you are stuck looking at this. Sorry, and I promise that I will do much better next week!

Because I Care.....Again

Ok, it's actually not again...but since all the demonstrators who placed a pre-order recieved one of these stamp sets it seems like I have seen it everywhere. Especially when I am browsing the web for the Blog Finds of the Day. Well I realized that while everyone else had used it to make a card, I hadn't yet. So in keeping with the spirit of using all my stamp sets at least once, I put this card together. It was relatively simple to make and I love the way the watercolor paper brings out the tiny lines in this stamp.