Leaps of Laughs - Froggies on the loose!

I was viewing some old photos this past week and was reminded of a few hysterical instances involving little frogs trapped in the screen of my office window. The first episode was a total family experience and resembled something out of an old t.v. sitcom. We were trying to put the frog in a small bucket to transport outside. We opened the window to trap him when he decided to take freedom into his own hands. The next thing we knew, he was leaping all over my studio and three of us were screaming while my husband was calmly trying to catch the frog. It was comical to say the least. That episode ended with the frog's sloooowwww motion leap right into my DH's hands. The frog got a hand cupped escort to safety in the garden out front. 

The second frog rescue involved my oldest daughter Ashley and I trying to trap a very non-colorful (half dead, I think!) frog into a small box. This was less eventful than our first episode, but in my efforts to put the frog on the ledge of our big water fountain out front (so he could revive with some water), I accidentally flipped him into the fountain. “Way to go, mom!” was all that Ashley could say.  I carefully rescued him from his back floating and placed him onto the ground. We never saw him again. I think he is hiding from us...some rescuers we turned out to be...nearly drowned the poor guy!!! LOL 

O.K., so by now you would think my days of frog rescuing would be over? But no, not yet! What can I say, I just can't stand to watch one of these poor creatures fry to a crisp trapped between the screen of my studio window in the scorching summer sun. This time, it was the day before our August vacation and I rescued frog number three with a lot less drama. Guess I am getting pretty good at this or maybe it’s just that the third time was a charm. Once again, Ashley helped me with the rescue mission. This little guy seemed to want to stick around our garden, so I grabbed my new camera to snap a few pictures. I was pretty pleased with the end result. Above, are the pictures of Froggy #3, the true known survivor of our good deeds!

More Halloween Treat Inspirations

Looking for some more fast and fun Halloween favors 

or goodie bags? Take a peak at these fun ideas...

Frank 'n Treat Goodie Bag and the Witch's Cauldron

are two idea I cooked up this year as fun projects.

With very basic supplies and some Glue Arts® adhesives,

I was able to create this fun goodie bag in no time! Leave me

a comment along with your email address if you want

me to email you the template or instructions.

This Witch's Cauldron features the same tag idea used

in my Broomstick Pouches earlier post, only it is cleverly

tied to a glass bowl filled with black licorice bites 

and a bubbling brew of marshmallows. I used 

the same lollipop idea for the broomstick.

Get Swept Away with These Halloween Treat Pouches!

These two-sided broomstick pouches lace up 

the side with ribbon so minimal glueing is 

involved. They feature two new Stampin’ Up!®

Halloween sets: Halloween Frights and Eat, 

Drink & Be Scary. The only difference between 

these two mini pouches is the moon. On the left,

I used white embossing powder to make it

really bright & I used bleach to remove the 

paper color in the sample on the right.

I used a mini tootsie pop to create 

the witch’s broomstick.

Here is a closer detail view of

the embossed version of the moon.

Here is the close up view showing

a bleached out moon.

Here is a much larger size of the broomstick

pouch to fit a larger size lollipop.

This is a detail view of the tag attached

to the ribbon lacing. The spooky type was

done by randomly dragging a black marker

over the rubber stamp inked with green galore ink.

A 50th Anniversary Celebration!

Well the big day is soon approaching. On October 18, 2008, exactly 50 years to the day that they got married, and exactly the same time, my parents will renew their wedding vows at a Catholic mass. Later that night we are planning a huge party with dinner, dancing, friends and family....and of course, a wedding cake. In my Stampin’ Up!® gallery, you can see the invitations for the event. It was also published in Just Invitations this past summer. 

This is a digital layout I did using their wedding portrait and a photo taken this summer in Orlando when we were celebrating my mom's special birthday (no, aint telling her age, but you'd be amazed!) I am hoping to be blessed with these same “young looking” genes.

I did some Photoshop tricks to give the wedding day photo a warm, peachy vintage feel. I used papers and digital goodies from ScrapGirls.com, a great site for digital scrapbooking resources. If you are wanting to try out going digital, they are a great site to get you started. I do both...some traditional scrapbooking and some digital.

So in a couple weeks, our family will be headed back to Philly (where I grew up) for the big event! I can't wait to see my whole entire family...it will be like another family reunion. I still am working on stuff for the party so I haven't been as active about posting. Sorry :D!

Turn Cards into Display Art

In one of my Sept. posts, I showed a card element featuring the cracked glass technique. I wanted to post a follow up image showing how I turned that card element into a frameable piece of art. Above left is “Artfelt Thanks” card and the framed card is “Framed in Happiness.” 

Also, with Christmas just a few months away, this is a great time to think of ways to turn your scrapbook and stamping creations into gifts for others. By simply adding a decorative easel or frame, you can turn cards into Display Art. 

This “In the Fields” card features a fun faux stitchery technique for non-sewers, or those of us who don't feel like dragging out the machine for one card. Recreate it by using a paper piercer, piercing guide (both available from Stampin’ Up!®) and some dual tipped markers. In this sample, I used Always Artichoke Stampin’ Write marker pointed tip to draw the faux stitches between the pierced holes, but the thing I think that gives this a sense of realism is to use the brush tip of a second color of marker to make a shadow of the stitches. I used Creamy Carmel for the shadow. Both are from Stampin’ Up!®.

Current Stampin' Up! Promotions

Only 8 days remaining on the Never-Before-Seen stamps promotion from Stampin' Up! If you are wanting some great sets and want to save 15% off, hurry and order fast! This promotion ends on Sept. 30th. 

And be sure to check out the spooky spider vinyl decals from the Decor Elements collection. With World Card Making Day coming up on Oct. 4th, you can save 20% on select cardmaking kits that entire week!  If you would like to receive pdfs of these flyers or to view the two Decor Elements catalogs, email me or click on the links above to view the promotion details on the Stampin' Up! Website. You can simply go to my demonstrator website to place your order and have it shipped directly to you!

Your Chance to Win Some Blog Candy!

My friend Melissa clued me in to some sites who have some blog candy up for grabs. Check out these sites: Scrappin' in My Spare Time and The Card Kabin. Be sure to swing by Melissa Bove's site, Creating from the heart, to check out all her beautiful projects, along with the projects on these other sites! Never can have enough inspiration.

Waiting for a touch of Fall

Well, I keep waiting for that little touch of an autumn breeze to blow our way, but the only winds lately have been spawned by hurricanes. I couldn't wait any longer for the change in weather to post this Autumn Bloomin’ card. The colors are what I remember of the changing leaves in the North Georgia mountains or my Fall garden in Shawnee, KS. 

Here are some hints of how to make this card:

I cut in half, a traced circle of Kraft cardstock and used a paper piercer around the semi circle, distressing the edges with ink. I loved the look created by using my Stampin' Up scallop circle punch and tucking the really rust cardstock shapes behind the semi circle. It gave it a giant flower look. {This would be so cool for creating a large sunflower!} 

The stamp set is one of my personal faves from SU called Fresh Cuts. I also used Summer Sun CS, patterned papers from We Are Memory Keepers Peasant Collection, Inque Boutique's Whispers™ Chestnut ink for lighter distressing, Chocolate Chip ink, Naturals buttons and antique brass hardware from SU, along with Prima Essentials flowers. For adhesive, I used Glue Arts Glue Ring Adhesive and micro adhesive squares. The front panel is trimmed 1/4" shorter on width and the brad and photo turn fastens the card shut.

Ideas for Stamping and Embellishing Your Layout

I did this layout a while ago, but wanted to share some ideas of how to combine a photo and stamping creatively on a layout.  Since I wanted the colors of the stamped flowers to stand out, I printed out my image in b&w {me on our 20th Anniv. trip to Aruba} so the two didn't compete for attention. I stamped these flowers from Inque Boutique’s Tropical Lagoon set directly onto my light patterned paper. Using markers and blend pens, I added the colors to the flowers. Next, I carefully cut along the outer edge of the flowers where I wanted to slide my photo under {kinda like one big giant photo corner}. I set the photo aside while attaching the Queen & Co. scrolled felt ribbon. I then attached the photo, did more stamping for the journaling box. To make the colored flowers pop, I inserted brads into pastel colored Prima flowers and attached them to the scroll. The wave border and title were both done using embossing powders to add texture & interest. Most of these papers {and cardstock stickers, too!} are from the Cabana Collection from Inque Boutique.

A "Go Green" project to try!

Who would guess that this weekly planner started as a cereal box? Inspired my friend, Susan Stringfellow's blog challenge to use items you would normally throw away in a project, I decided to figure out something cool to make from a cereal box. With school starting and schedules crazier than ever, I needed a weekly planner that I could grab and go that would tell me what time Kylie’s dance classes began and ended as well as what nights Ashley had volleyball games...to name just a few weekly scheduled activities (and it fits on my desk)!

This desktop, portable planner, created as a project for Glue Arts’ design team, has a removeable stamped calendar made using Stampin’ Up!®’s Mark the Date and Full Calendar sets. I designed the weekly planner portion in Adobe Illustrator and saved as a pdf file. I will update you on when these project instructions will be available online. Between now and then, I challenge you to think before you throw something in the trash...it may become your next, best project! Think greener.

SU August Workshop highlights

O.K., so the kids are all now back in school, despite the 

interruption of Tropical Storm Fay and the threat of 

Hurricane Gustav. I was sure that all you stampin’ moms 

would have some first day photos to show off or send to 

the family, so I designed this make-n-take project with 

that in mind. It also shows off some of the wonderful, 

new Stampin’ Up. In Colors from the new catalog along

with the new scallop border punch, the tab punch, the Full 

Calendar and Tart and Tangy stamp sets,

plus the Nursery Letters wheel, which is a must have 

supply for school themed projects, (in my opinion).

I also did a 12 x 12 layout that I hope to photograph 

and post on the blog later this week. Hopefully,

we won't be threatened by anymore hurricanes.

Stay away, Josephine!!!

With fall just around the corner, I wanted to demo 

the cracked glass technique using the new Stampin’ Up 

Level 3 hostess set, Happiness always. I also showed 

how to use your stamp positioner for mounting the set.

This technique uses the Versamark pad and layers of 

Glassy Glaze (a thick, clear embossing powder) which was 

used on the project, heat set, put in the fridge, then cracked.

To accentuate the cracks, ink was rubbed on top.

Needing a cute note card in a hurry? Try combining

the Fresh Cuts stamp set and note cards. Here, I used

Pumpkin Pie ink with Pacific Point. I sponged ink around the

die cut flowers using a scrap sheet to protect the inside.

To make it a true note card, I added the layer of solid

cardstock behind the die cut so the note would not show

through the die cuts. I used Baja Breeze CS for the center

flower along with an ice blue rhinestone. A matching 

envelope was done using the leafy stem and Pacific 

Point ink stamped on the envelope’s flap.

44 isn’t so bad!

Well who says turning 44 has to be a bad thing? This birthday, I feel pretty encouraged. Even though I still have some toning up and a few more pounds to shed, I am beginning to feel more comfortable in my own skin. I am more fearless than I ever was (not that I am this wild risk taker or anything!), more God focused, and feel good about the kind of mom I am for my girls. (Oh, and not to leave out being blessed with a DH who still brings me flowers for our anniversary and insists on taking me out to dinner for my birthday! Pretty lucky girl, huh?) And this month, I reached one of my New Year’s goals of getting published in some new magazines...a nice Birthday surprise! You can find my samples and/or articles in these four publications, either in print or online:

Scrap & Stamp Arts, Scrapbooking.com Magazine, Scrapbook News & Review and Just Invitations!

Here is a preview of some of the featured projects: