Thursday, September 27th

Warning - this is going to be a short post. I have a stamp class in 15 minutes...

Geez, the past week has flown! I did travel last week to Chattanooga for the SU Regionals. I had a most wonderful time. I stayed at the Chattanoogian with Dylana Goatee and Shelley Hunt. We met up with my upline, Susan Polcari of Chattanooga for the Regionals. Then I had 3 guests attend the Regionals too! There was Imogene Thomas of Metone, GA and Sue & Mike Bosco of Decatur, AL.

Miss Imogene knocked my socks off by signing up to be my newest downline. She got the $ 99 special PLUS a few stamp set of her choice, plus I get a free stamp set of my choice! Woohoo!!!

I will be back later with photos. I am having troubles with my desktop and that is where they are stored. I want to share Regional photos and a cute cartoon with you.

Front Row:   Dylana Goatee, Susan Polcari and me
Back Row:  Shelley Hunt, Sue Bosco, and Imogene Thomas

Now this week on facebook there has been the cutest cartoon that really applies to all SU demos (and customers) that I have to share with you.

Fab Friday Challenge # 2

Okay Miss Mindy set up a color challenge this week for the Fab Friday Challenge.

 

This was a color combination outside of my normal playing field. I was not really sure how to accomplish a nice looking card with such dull colors. I love each of these colors with OTHER colors but together?????

I wandered around looking for inspiration when I found another challenge, and decided to pair them (at least the starburst portion them together). So it was a 2 for 1 morning for me!


I am rather pleased with my outcome of my card for both challenges!

 

 

I happened upon this starburst design over at http://www.handmadebyjulie.com/?page_id=1971  and thought VIOLA! That is what will make these colors pop together. Julie gives a great informational tutorial how to achieve this starburst pattern, complete with photos. I will only recap what I did to create this card on my blog. Run over and visit Julie for the tutorial.

 

Ingredients:

 

* DSP from the Neutrals Color Collection (Sahara Sand, and Basic Gray) and from the Subtles Color Collectin (So Saffron). I used all 4 pattern designs from these collections (or at least they are sitting on my desk to make a few more of these cards) cut 1.5" x 4" to form a rectangle. Then cut in half diagonally to create the starburst.

* Very Vanilla cardstock cut at 2 1/4" x 5" to form the base for the starburst

* DSP from the Neutrals Color Collection  (Dotted Basic Gray) cut at 2"  x  5"

* Very Vanilla cardstock cut 2 1/4" x 5 1/4" to form the mat

* Sahara Sand cardbase cut 4 1/4" x 11" - then folded along the long side at 5 1/2"

* So Saffron ribbon

* Scrap of Very Vanilla for the sentiment

* Scrap of Sahara Sand for the sentiment mat

* Stampin Dimensionals

* Stamp Set: Blessings from Heaven

* Inks: Sahara Sand for sponging,  Basic Gray for sentiment

 

Okay, let me confess about the matting around my sentiment. I reached in my scrap area for a piece of Sahara Sand. The scrap I pulled had previously been punched with the Decorative Label Punch. I decided to use that edge for visual interest.

 

Speaking about my scraps, have I ever showed you how I store all my lovely SU Paper?

 

 

I use those white cubes you can get at Walmart or Target. My wall is slightly different these days and my stamps are else where. Anyway, my wall of paper is right behind me at my work table. I simply turn and can reach each and every piece of paper to make my choices.

 

I use four of these 12 x 12 paper holders for each of my white cubes. I place 2 colors in one paper holder (so each cube has 4 paper holders and 8 cardstock colors). For instance, I put Daffodil Delight and So Saffron in the same holder. I arrange it Left to Right like this:

 

8.5" x 11" Daffodil Delight cardstock

12" x 12" Color Collection DSP in Daffodil Delight

12" x 12" Daffodil Delight cardstock

SCRAPBAG for Daffodil Delight  (more about this in a minute)

SCRAPBAG for So Saffron (more about this in a minute)

12" x 12" So Saffron cardstock

12" x 12" Color Collection DSP in So Saffron

8.5" x 11" So Saffron Cardstock

Okay to the left is a SCRAPBAG storage folder. It has 3 openings inside it. Each side has a small pouch for scraps and the center can hold up to a 12" x 12" piece of paper. This is how I store my usuable scraps. Been doing it this way for about 3 years. Find it works the best for me. I can always find the correct color scrap, I waste less paper, and it is neat and separates my 2 colors in my paper holder.  These bags do fit inside the paper holders (to the right) that we sell.

 

Also, let me point out I take my Color Collection DSP pads and put each color with the matching color of cardstock. I find it is easier to locate, I use more of the Color Collection DSP's, and it is so handy to have it together instead of searching if I still have a sheet or a scrap of a certain color. I keep the DSP scraps in the SCRAPBAG along with my cardstock scraps.

 

Soon as I get a few free minutes I will update my photos of my current scrapbook room. I lived in my house for 2 years before I hung anything in my scrapbook room. I wanted to get a feel for the room before I made that permanent decision. I love how I have it right now. There are 30 white cubes behind me on the shelf. Bottom row is retired DSP (and boy do I have alot of it!), 2nd and 3rd rows are SU current InColors, DSP and Cardstocks. The 4th, 5th and 6th rows have baskets in them that store all kinds of things (like ribbons, etc). That is only the wall behind my desk!

Across the room there are 20 more white cubes that store retired cardstock and my collection of other contraband companies for my scrapbooking needs (like Arkansas Razorback paper, Bo Bunny, Life Stories, etc.), and some have drawers that store my machines like Xyron, drawers with adhesives (okay I confess I use only Tombow and the tape for my ATG gun) and other sudries. There are catalogs and notebooks too.

 

Then I have one wall that holds my cricuts cartridges, my SU stamps (which take most of the space), my embellishments and at the very bottom my Dreamkutz machine and Circuit machine. Near my desk is a white bookcase that only holds sizzix dies.

 

There are 2 long tables with 4 really padded chairs for my stamping friends in the classroom area. I got new lightening in the room this summer. I call the lights, my airport runway lights! That room is bright even at night.

 

See I really do need to update photos of my space to share!

 

 

 





On my mind....

Today my mom is on my mind. I will tell you Kleenex might be needed if you read this post. If you don't need a good, soul-refreshing tear jerker crying session, SKIP THIS POST. That's your final warning because I need to talk about her tonight.

 

I would like to share our last Christmas together with you and  tell you what made her so amazing to me. This layout is very special. All the photos were taken in December 2005.

 

 The first photo you see on the upper left of the page is my mom, Franca Redini Bridges, and my brother-in-law, Mark Skorupa (Jenny's husband). Sadly both are now deceased.

 

The bottom left photo is of mom and Laura Jill Hill (Jenny's daughter). The bottom right photo is of my brother, Bruno, my mom, and Cody Brandon Bridges (Bruno's son).

 

 

Top left is my sister, Jenny Skorupa and our mom. Top left is of my brother, Bruno Bridges and our Mom. Bottom left is of me with my mom. Notice all the red cardinals? It was my mom's favorite bird -- she collected them. When we see a cardinal, we always say Mom is looking out for us.

My mom was born on March 12, 1930 in Parma, Italy to Elsa Bussolati Redini and Guiseppe Redini. She grew up in Tuscany in the city of Pisa. She was the oldest of 8 children (5 girls and 3 boys). She was working at Camp Darby, an US Army Base (it is outside of Pisa) when she met my father, Joseph Kindell Bridges, III of Holly Springs, Mississippi. In October 1958, when I was only 7 months old, we moved from Italy to Fort Hood, Texas. That Christmas,  Mom found out she was expecting my sister Jenny.

In February 1959, my father was killed in a head on collison near Fort Hood. My mother decided to stay in the USA and raise the 3 of us children (Bruno 5, me 11 months, and Jenny who was not born yet). She did not speak English at that time. She sacrificed herself not returning home to her parents, brothers and sisters. (In fact, she only went back to Italy once -- it was in 1985). I just cannot imagine not returning to my family.

We moved to Helena, Arkansas, a riverboat town along the Mississippi River about 75 miles south of Memphis. Mom struggled to learn English, which she did learn via the use of encyclopedias and an Italian-English dictionary. It was her 3rd language. She spoke Italian, French and English.

I remember Helena being a melting pot of different nationalities when I was a child. My mother and her friends had a group. They called themselves the Heyena Club. There were so many wonderful ladies in that group: Isabel (Brazil); Anna (Belgium); Mimi (France); Lisa (Germany); Zee Zee (Yugoslavia); and Clara (Egypt). There were many more! Sadly all have passed away with the exception of our dearest Isabel, who now lives in Leesburg, Florida.

Mom's  first job was at Bobbie Brooks Garment Factory, where she worked from about 1960 to 1973. Funny thing, as a child in Italy, she was sent home from the sewing school and her grandmother was told never to send her back. She was incapable of learning to sew. For someone incapable, she made her living on that skill.

When I was in high school, she went to work doing alterations at C.E. Mayer and Co. in Helena. Later she opened her own alterations business. First, she rented space in New Way Cleaners with Pat and Lee Williams. Then a few years later, she and her friend Barbara got together. Barbara owned antique store called On the Levee Antiques and she did not want to be alone in the store. So a portion of the store was designed for mom to have her own business, Franca's Alterations. They were good friends. Barbara was like another daughter to my mom. When Mom died, we had Barbara sit with us in the family section.

My mother and I did things together. She learned to finally drive when I was 15, and got her license and first car. I have to say all thanks go to Lisa Mathis, who taught Mom how to drive! Mom learned to swim the summer I was 17.

She was just a hoot. She spoke English with an Italian accent and a Southern drawl on top. LOL She never conquered the English "th" sounds because it does not occur in Italian and the fact she had scarlet fever as a child and it damaged her hearing.

In the fall of 2005, she quietly went to the doctor and had tests ran for a couple of months before she said a word to anyone (and she was living with me at that time). One Wednesday evening in early November, she asked me to take off work the next morning because she needed me. That was super rare. She instilled a strong work ethic in her kids -- you went to work unless you were in bed sick --- no taking mental health days or fun days. And if you did not go to work (or when we were school age,go to school), you did not go anywhere else. Tough luck if you got better later that day. You were staying home.

Anyway I got the day off and inquired why she needed me. I was shocked when she told me I needed to take her to the hospital for a lung biopsy the following morning. Then she proceeded to tell me not to tell my brother and sister. OMG -- not tell them? Thankfully sis called and knew something was up and Mom fessed up.

The doctor told me after the biopsy it was lung cancer. But at the time we did not know how far along it was. That was November. We went to his office Thanksgiving week to get the results. I remember leaving thinking all was well; she would get some treatment and it would be okay. He was sending us to Little Rock to see an oncologist. The appointment came in mid December. It was a Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. They explained what a port was and what the treatment would be for her lung cancer. They told us the staging. Then I asked how long would we do treatment before recovery. Then the shock -- they explained she was Stage 4 and terminal. I remember just crying so hard while driving Mom to my sister's house. I could not believe I was going to lose my mom, my mentor and my best friend.

I simply begged this poor woman to take the chemotherapy to give us more time together. The doctors stated she would live only 6 months without it and live 12 -18 months with the chemotherapy. Bless her soul, she took the treatment for me. She started in January 2006. She passed away June 2006. Six months -- that is all I had her for--- I had her take this terrible treatment to gain months and we gained nothing. Her quality of life exchanged for quanity --- when she got neither.

Poor little Mom. She was 4'10" and 90 pounds on her final day on Earth. She had just gotten hair back on her little head. Looked like a black buzz cut. Mom did not have any gray hairs at all. That final weekend, I remember telling her how much she looked like my brother, Bruno. She informed me, that NO, she did not look like Bruno. Instead it was Bruno that looked like her. The treatments caused her to lose 30 pounds in those 6 months.

I miss my mom. After 6 years, I still reach for the phone to call her and tell her a story or an event that happened. Every once in a while, I have one of these tear jerker sessions missing her so badly.

Tonight's came because I went to see a friend whose daughter is in ICU. I know that triggered it. Life is simply so fragile.

My favorite photo of Mom. I took this at On the Levee Antiques in June 2005. A year later I would be saying goodbye to her.

These are some of the beautiful black and white photos of my Mom in the 1950's. I have this layout hanging on the wall in my living room. I have one wall that is nothing but family photos and layouts. I walk past this everyday and THANK GOD for her.

The Bridges Family circa 1977. Front row: Bruno and Franca. Back row: Arlene, Charlotte (Bruno's wife) and Jenny. Taken in Helena, Arkansas.

Thank you for letting me introduce you to my mom.

September Card Classes

Tonight I start the 1st of my series of September Card Classes. I opted to teach the classes here in my home and only have seats for 4 persons at a time in my craft room. Oh, I could teach only 2 classes a month at my sister's therapy room since it holds 12 persons at a time. But that means, (1) I have to pack up and cart everything to her house;  (2) the class lacks the informal one to one hands on teaching I prefer; (3) and if I forget anything, there is a BIG PROBLEM!

So I opted to hold 6 small card classes and 2 small scrapbooking classes over the month of September. I chose to hold classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and 2 non-chemo Saturdays. That way everyone has an opportunity to attend class.

This month I am bringing back TECHNIQUE CARDS. Each stamper will get a package of 5 cards to make in class, one being a special technique of the month PLUS they will get a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card with a small sample and directions how to do the technique. This will allow them to put the samples cards on a ring or in a book, and create a technique album to refer to later on.

This month we are doing TRIPLE TIME STAMPING by Dawn Olchefske as our September Technique. I chose to use French Foliage as the stamp set for the technique.

Personally, I chose not to have ribbon or a bow, but I will have ribbon available for any stamper that choses to add it to their card. I thought French Foliage really lent itself to Dawn's Triple Time Technique.

We are also doing:

1.  A male themed card with The Open Sea
2.  A female themed card with Bordering on Romance
3.  A children's themed card using Punch Art
4.  A waterfall card using By the Seashore

I cannot wait to see some of my stamping friends. It has been so long since I have hugged their necks and them over for a visit! Have a great day,

Arlene

Convention 2012 Card Candy Part 2

Welcome to Monday morning. I am so pleased to say that it is a good morning for me. I had my #72 chemo treatment on Friday and sometimes I am still yucky on Mondays. Today that is not true -- hallelujah! Let's get this show on the road ... I still have 12 more Card Candy Samples to share with you. Today I will share the final 4 entries from String 1 of the Card Candy Swap!

Card Candy # 5

This lovely card candy sample was made by Sheryl Wheatley (SCS name: swheat 77). Let me also tell you that Sheryl was in many of the Convention Swaps with me. Each and every item she made was fantastic. She pays such attention to detail. If you ever have the opportunity to swap with her, you will be so pleased!

 

 

Stamp Sets:  Create A Cupcake and A Word for You

Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper and DSP in the above colors

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Pink Pirouette, and Black Stazon

Punches: Owl Builder, Cupcake Builder, Word Window, Modern Label, Scallop Trim, Decorative Label, and Dotted Scallop

Other: Sponges, Baker's Twine, 2 way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds

 

 

Card Candy # 6

 

This entry was made by Pat Lund of Medford, Oregon. (SCS name: 1OldHen).

This was Pat's first trip to Convention and her first time swapping. She is a new demonstrator that started last fall under my downline, Gail Etchie.

 

Stamp Set: Kidoodles

Paper:  Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Basic Black, Natural White and Be of Good Cheer DSP.

Inks: Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, and Basic Black

Other:  Apothecary Accents Framelits, Circle Punches, and 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch

 

 

Card Candy # 7

This entry was made by Laura Fernsler (SCS name: istampustamp). 

 

Stamp Set: Jolly Bingo Bits

Paper: Real Red, Gumball Green, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Pool Party

Inks: Soft Suede, Gumball Green, Real Red, Black Stazon, Pool Party

Ribbons: Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Ribbon, Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon,  Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Ribbon, Wild Wasabi 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Real Red 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon and Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

Punches: New Mini Scallop Circle Punch,  Large Oval, Scallop Oval, Extra Large Oval, Extra LargeTag, Postage Stamp, 1" square Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

 

Card Candy # 8

 

 I made this entry for the Card Candy Swap.

 

 

Stamp Sets: Mouthwatering, A Word for You, and Friendly Phrases

Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink, Elegant Eggplant

Markers: Garden Green, Real Red, Elegant Eggplant, Pretty in Pink and Basic Black

Punches: 2 1/2" Circle Punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Scallop Oval Punch and the Extra Large Oval Punch

Other: Mini Wooden Sticks (from Hobby Lobby) and Stampin Dimensionals.

 

I hope you enjoyed viewing today's swap items. I will be back with the final 8 Card Candy entries over the course of this week, sharing 4 at a time. Right now, I need to move clothes to the dryer, and head to the shower. I have a long day today and an IEP meeting right after school on one of my kiddos. 

 

You have a great day!

Arlene 

 

 



 

 

Convention 2012 Card Candy Swap

Back in January 2012, I signed up for a Card Candy swap at SUDSOL with Bobbie Ganley. I was really not sure what I was getting myself into with this swap for Leadership. Oh my goodness! It was one of my favorites of Leadership.

So Convention 2012 rolls around, and I decide to host this swap at SCS. I was so pleased with the results of the swap! In fact, after the swap, I ended up staying at the swap table an hour because their were so many people taking photos of the swap items (Card Candy) and asking for my card and if I was going to host this swap again next year (You betcha!)

What is card candy you ask? I compare it to "handmade jolee's". You can give them to your hostesses as gifts, use them as door prizes, or save them when you need a fast card.  I want to share with you a few of them I got  in the swap. There were 2 strings of card candy with 8 ladies in each group. I have been working over 30 minutes to get them posted to the gallery at Splitcoast but it is not working today. Let me share a few of the 16 card candy entries today. I will share all 16 over the next week, so bear with me.

Card Candy # 1 -

This entry was made by Liz Rydwin (SCS Name: Red Apron).

 





Stamp Set: Priority Mail

Cardstock: Whisper White, Garden Green, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, Basic Gray, Gold, Real Red and Baja Breeze

Ink: Primrose Petals, Versamark, Midnight Muse, Basic Gray, and Baja Breeze

Punches: Curly Label, Postage Stamp, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 3/8" Square, Modern Label, Large Oval, Scallop Oval and Scallop Circle

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Gold Embossing Powder, and Dazzling Diamonds.

 

 

Card Candy # 2

 

This entry was made by Kathy Kartak (SCS Name: kkrab5)

 

Stamp Set:  Tea Shoppe

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, and Elegant Eggplant

Ink:  Gumball Green, Elegant Eggplant, Primrose Petals

Markers: Primrose Petals, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit

Punches:  1 3/8" Circle,  1 1/4" Circle, Word Window, Modern Label, Large Oval, Scallop Oval and Decorative Label

Accessories: Labels Collection Framelits, Basic Pearls and Rhinestones, and Dazzling Details

Ribbon: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding and Primrose Petals Stitched Satin

 

 

Card Candy # 3

This entry was made by Shelia Jamison (SCS Name: jamisonandco)

 

Although Shelia did not list her ingredients, I will attempt to list them for you.

 

Stamp Sets: Mixed Bunch and Papillon Potpourri

Cardstock: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, and Basic Black

DSP:  Daffodil Delight Dots, and Real Red Stripes

Inks:  Basic Black, and Real Red

Accessories: Rhinestones, Pearls, White Baker's Twine, Real Red Button, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons

Punches: Blossom Punch, and Elegant Butterfly

 

Card Candy # 4



This entry was made by Micki Sewell (SCS Name:spanishteacher)

 

Stamp Sets: Loving Thoughts, Word Play, The Open Seas

Inks: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Sahara Sand, and Early Expresso

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Not Quite Navy

Punches: Extra Large Tag and Decorative Label

Big Shot: Two Tags Die

Embellishments:  Baker's Twine in Early Expresso and sponged in Crumb Cake

 

There you go, the first 4 of the 16 card candy entries in the 2012 Card Candy Convention Swap. I will host this swap again at the 2013 Convention!

 

Have a great day!

Arlene



Fab Friday Challenges

I have a sweet online friend, Mindy Backes, who has started a Fab Friday Card Challenge. Her card challenge blog is  http://badabingcrafting.blogspot.com/search/label/Fab%20Friday . Go by and check it out. Hope you will try out some of challenges yourself.

I have never entered a card challenge, but I felt that it was the right time to start. This morning I printed off her challenge design off the blog and went to my work table. Here is her challenge for this week. 

 

I just got a new box of Stampin Up toys yesterday, and one of my sets was Animal Talk. So I went and made a very simple card for this challenge. Here are my results:

 

Ingredients:

* Gumball Green cardstock cut 4 1/4" wide and 11" long. I scored  it at 5 1/2" along the 11 inch side.
* Whisper White cardstock cut 4 1/4" wide and 4 1/4" deep.
* A strip of Gumball Green Dotted DSP 4 1/4" wide x 1" deep
* A strip of Whisper White Cardstock 4 1/4" wide x 1/2" deep
* A Rich Regal Button
* Some twine
* Scallop Trim Border Punch
* Gumball Green Classic Ink
* A square punch to create the flag on the sentiment
* Stampin Dimensionals
* Stamp Set    Animal Talk

Directions:

1. Prepare the card base, score and fold.
2. Use the Scallop Trim Border to cut the design on one end of your 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" cardstock.
3. Add the Gumball Green Dotted DSP across the bottom of your 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" cardstock near the Scallop Trim Border design. I left about 1/4" of white paper showing (not counting the actual punched design).
4. Now stamp the sentiment from the stamp set Animal Talk in Gumball Green Classic Ink. Remember to leave at least 1 inch white space on the right side of your strip of Whisper White. This leaves you plenty of room for the button.
5. Take a square punch and punch out a flag on the left side of the sentiment strip. You can adhere this strip to your DSP with adhesive or Stampin Dimensionals.
6. While you have the Gumball Green Classic Ink pad available, stamp up the frog design and stamp the image in the center of the white space still available on your Whisper White Cardstock.
7.  Add twine through your button and tie a bow. Attach button to the right end of your sentiment with a Stampin Dimensional.

This is a very simple card to recreate. Plus the design will allow you to use other stamp sets just as easily. For example, try the cherry basket image in the stamp set Cherish Friendship (page 93 in your catalog) perhaps with Cherry Cobbler paper. Or the cute dumptruck image in the stamp set I Dig You (page 90 in your catalog) perhaps using Night of Navy or Real Red cardstock.

Enjoy!

 

Tweaking a Cased Card

Eventually everyone cases a card design. Casing simply means to recreate someone else's card design. You pin your favorite card ideas onto your Pinterest boards to either recreate the design or to perhaps take it as a starting point and tweak it. Tweaking is simply adding your own spin on a card. Today I am going to give you an example of a card I am casing and tweaked.

Aunt Chucky Ducky (that is what I call my dear Charlie Fritts) was here last week. She was going through a box of cards I have gotten at Leadership 2012 and Convention 2012. She found one card and asked me to make sure to add it to my September Card Class.

I received the original card at Leadership 2012 from Julie LeBlanc of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Julie does have a website if you are interested in seeing more of her creations. It is www.kewlstamps-n-more.blogspot.com

Julie made a lovely card in Elegant Eggplant, and Certainly Celery on a Whisper White base. She did use Watercolor Paper for her stamped image. See her lovely work below:

She used 2 different designs from the Subtles (Perfect Plum) Color Collection Designers Series Paper Stack, Elegant Eggplant 1/2" Scallop Ribbon, the Scallop Trim Border Punch, Snow Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (it retired from the 2011-2012 Holiday Mini), Rhinestones, Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink, Black Stazon, Stampin Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds and the stamp sets Perfectly Penned and Bordering on Romance. She either used a blender pen or watercolored with Elegant Eggplant and Certainly Celery on the flower image. Just not sure which technique she used.

Well, I tweaked her original design to make the "cased card" my own. I have 2 samples to share with you. When I offer this card in my September card class, each stamper will have a choice of sentiments from the stamp set Perfectly Penned (Item #122892). There are 4 sentiments in that set - Thank You, Celebrate Today, Get Well and Happy Birthday. Here is my version of Julie's card:

First of all, I changed cardstocks. I selected Naturals White Cardstock (Item 102316), Perfect Plum Cardstock (Item # 101889), and Certainly Celery Cardstock (Item # 105125). I did use Watercolor Paper (Item # 122959) for my focal stamped image. Instead of 2 different designs from the Subtles Color Collection Designers Series Paper Stacks (Item # 117152), I chose to use only the striped design.

I replaced her embossing folder choice with the new Delicate Design Folders (Item # 127023) and then I used the new Large Scallops Edgelits (Item # 127019) to cut out the Certainly Celery cardstock. I did NOT use the Scallop Trim Border punch at all.

Then I changed the ribbon from the Elegant Eggplant 1/2" inch Scallop Ribbon to a softer Perfect Plum 3/8" inch Taffeta Ribbon.

I used the Perfect Plum Striped DSP along with my Certainly Celery on a base of Naturals White cardstock. I add the Perfect Plum Taffeta Ribbon and then mounted that to a Perfect Plum Mat. Note that the ribbon does not go around the Perfect Plum mat. Then mounted it to my cardbase of Naturals White cardstock. For me, I matted the design onto Perfect Plum cardstock. I next stamped my sentiment in Elegant Eggplant. After I watercolored the design (see below for details), I used Stampin Dimensionals to add it to my card.

What did I leave the same? I left the stamped focal image of the flowers from Bordering on Romance (Item # 125482) stamped with Black Stazon onto Watercolor Paper (Item # 122959). Then I watercolored the image with a Blender Pen (Item # 102845) using my Perfect Plum Marker and my Wild Wasabi marker. The Certainly Celery marker was too light. I also colored the edges of my flowers with the Blender Pen and the Perfect Plum Marker. Afterwards I used a 2 way Glue Pen (Item # 100425) to go around the edges of each flower. I then, dipped my image into Dazzling Diamonds (# 102023) and thumping off the excess. Don't forget to add the Rhinestones to the centers of your flowers.

Arlene hint -> I use plastic sandwich containers to keep my Dazzling Diamonds and Embossing Powders. I find it easier to open a container and sprinkle my Dazzling Diamonds or Embossing Powders over an image and allow the excess to fall back into my container. So much easier for me than trying to get it back in the little jar... plus I can put several containers of Dazzling Diamonds into my plastic container at one time! For each plastic sandwich container, I label the outside of them with the name of the contents on all 4 sides. I know it sounds like overkill, but believe me (personal experience talking) when I tell you I got Dazzling Diamonds and Irridescent Ice mixed together once... sigh. Easier on me to make sure whichever side of the container I see on my shelf, I can see the content name! Also never use these items with a fan blowing or the heat gun until AFTER you close the container.


Here is another variation of Julie's card with only a change in the sentiment.

Overall, Julie had a great card design, but I wanted to tweak the design to make it mine. I took her design as the starting point of my card, changed a few items and came up with a new look to the card.

Hope you enjoyed this explaination of casing and tweaking. I should be posting at least 3 times a week now that my school routine and lesson plans have settled into place.

Also, I have all my September Card and Scrapbooking classes set up. I did send out emails advising of the times and dates. You must RSVP to ensure a seat at the class of your choice. All the card classes are the same for the month of September. This allows me to repeat the class for up to 24 stampers. Remember I do classes of 4 people at a time so you get more personalized instruction and rarely do the 12 person classes any longer.

This month we are beginning our Technique card classes. You will make 5 cards and the 5th card is a special technique card. You will also make a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Technique File/Flash card with a sample of the technique on it as well as the directions on how to do that technique. This month's technique is Triple Time Stamping.

September Class Schedule

* Saturday, September 8th      10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.     Card Class for my Chemo Nurses

* Tuesday, September 11th    6:00 p.m.  to  9:00 p.m.    Card Class

* Thursday, September 13th   4:30 p.m.  to  7:30 p.m.   Card Class

* Saturday, September 15th    9:00 a.m.  to  12 noon      Card Class

* Saturday, September 15th    1:00 p.m.  to 4:00 p.m.    Scrapbooking Class

* Tuesday, September 18th     6:00 p.m.  to 9:00 p.m.     Card Class

* Thursday, September 27th    4:30 p.m.  to 7:30 p.m.     Card Class

* Saturday, September 29th     9:00 a.m.  to   12 noon     Card Class

* Saturday, September 29th    1:00 p.m.   to   4:00 p.m.   Scrapbooking Class


Again, remember to RSVP to hold your seat. Classes are held in my home and I hope to see you there!

Arlene

Back to School Monday

Gosh, it is Monday already. Today is the first day of school for us in this area of Arkansas. It is going to be a long, long day. I am pleased to be seeing my sweet student faces again, but it is going to take both the students and myself a week to get back in the saddle or the routine. Scheduling is rather strange this year too.....

Today I am going to post a card that I fell in love with at Convention. I do not know who created this card. One of my lucky roommates (and I am not sure which one of them) received it in a swap. To me this "spinner card" (the eyeball actually spins!) is the best use of this stamp set I have ever seen.

I am going to try to re-create this card to the best of my ability. I know the artist stamped the 2 monsters or aliens from Make A Monster stamp set onto Designer Series paper and then hand cut them out.  The base of the card is Pacific Point. The main mat is black and I "think" that the white you see is done with a gel pen. Remember all I have is a photo to go by.  The moon is So Saffron and the planet is Gumball Green. It appears that there are 2 layers to both the moon and the planet. The artist used various circle punches on these pieces. The Word Window punch was used in the center of the black mat. This created the window for your 2 pennies and the dimensional and big moveable/goggly eye. If you go over to splitcoastampers, you can find SPINNER CARD in their tutorials.  It is very simple to create a spinner card. Need a punch like Word Window, 2 pennies, a dimensional, and something to add to the topside (like the moveable eye). I will show you my interpretation when I get it finished!

Another card I loved was an Anniversary Card. Again, I do not know the name of the artist. Just can tell you one of my 3 roommates, (Sandy, Gail, or Pat) received this card in a swap. Love the card.

They used the new Gold Glimmer paper and Very Vanilla paper. The stamping was done with Soft Suede or is it Crumb Cake?  I can tell you the cardbase is 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" (once folded). The Gold Glimmer mat is 5 1/4" x 4". Then the Very Vanilla mat is 5" x 3 3/4" and run thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Folder.  I can see the Very Vanilla Doily and all those Boho Blossoms flower punches out of Very Vanilla. The leaves are Crumb Cake. The beautiful butterfly comes from our new stamp set as well as the wording for the sentiment. This is another card I want to recreate.

Okay dokey, my time is limited this morning. Still need to shower, dress, take my meds and my shot and hit the road. I have one more thing to copy off before my class needs it this afternoon. I have all the rest of my classes prepped for this week and next week. I simply just ran out of time on Saturday and decided to stay home on Sunday to tackle the laundry and clean my scrapbook room. Got the laundry done (okay 3 loads) and then after cleaning the scrapbook room, I even cut out my technique card for September card class. Tonight I type up the technique to print onto cardstock for our card rings. Only 3 cards to go and I can have class! Figure by this weekend, I will be ready to announce card class dates.

Have a great day!
Arlene

It's a Busy Saturday~

Pictured above is my Card Candy swap entry for my Convention 2012 Card Candy Swap. I first heard of Card Candy from SUDSOL SU Demo Bobbie Ganley. She hosted a Card Candy swap at Leadership 2012 in San Antonio this past January (you can see the samples from that swap in my January blog posts). I liked the idea so well, that I hosted a Card Candy swap at Splitcoaststampers for the 2012 Convention.

You wonder what is card candy? My best explaination is that is a homemade Jolee. You can make them and hand them out to your hostesses or as door prizes (or even to make fast cards yourself!). This is just a nice way to showcase the versatility of a stamp set. The items are placed on acetate (transparency film) with a glue dot to make them easy to remove and use at a later date. I also place my transparency on a piece of chipboard. Again, I cut up all the whitechipboard that comes with my Stampin Up DSP paper. I attached my transparency to the chipboard and later attached the stamped/matted images. Then I slip it all in a SU cello bag and add a topper.

When I find where I hid my camera I will take photos of all the Card Candy swap entries. We had 2 groups of 8. The swap was awesome. I will be doing it again at the next Convention! The above pictured Card Candy features the stamp set MOUTHWATERING. I wanted to make sure each stamped image had a sentiment to match it or to go with it. I had alot of questions about my purple popsicle. I used the Elegant Eggplant marker. Then  I cut them out and attached them to real wooden mini sticks I found at Hobby Lobby.

This is a busy Saturday weekend. I am in the midst of laundry right now. Then my friend Stacy is coming to do a scrapbook layout. After that I need to head to Little Rock to the teacher store and pick up a couple of items I need. I need more rings for my chart stand and I want another chart holder. Then out to the school to make copies and work on lesson plans. Tomorrow I have a lady coming from Hot Springs to see some SU products and get a catalog. Then Monday morning school starts back full time. Plus on top of it all, I am out on Friday for my 70th chemo round. My mantra is "Only 2 more years.... only 2 more years". I have already handled 5 years, so we know it is possible.

You have a great weekend!

Arlene

Oh my! It's already Mid-August!

Above is a simple 12 x 12 layout I did for a Convention Swap. It would be so easy to do a matching page layout design to complete a 2 page spread. I don't know about you, but I prefer a 2 page spread in my scrapbooks... that and I prefer the bases of the spreads to be alike (I mean the color). I am not fond of using a red background on one page and then a yellow on the other. I want my eye to flow across the pages and focus on the photos -- not the different backgrounds.

In this layout I got to showcase some new items in the 2012-2013 Catalog. Among them are:

* The Sizzix Typeset Alphabet Bigz (page 192)

* Delicate Doilies Sizzlits L (page 191)

* Be of Good Cheer DSP (page 164)

* Gumball Green Cardstock - new In Color (page 152)

Let me clue you in on a few things I did on this layout. I applied some of the Cherry Cobbler Cardstock to a thin layer of chipboard. I used the chipboard that comes in my DSP package. Then I cut out the numbers, 2012 out of that cardstock covered chipboard. I raised up the numbers using dimensionals to give the page some depth. I often use cardstock covered chipboard to cut die cuts or with my framelits. It simply gives the paper more weight and stability. Try it with your label framelits sometime, and then use dimensionals to lift the framelit off the base of your card or scrapbook page.

I cut the Gumball Green cardstock with the Delicate Doilies Sizzlets. I stamped the sentiment NOEL onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and punched it out with a circle punch. Then I added the doily to the layout. Once it was adhered, I added the circle punched sentiment to the center of the doily and the pearls surrounding the doily to give the page some *pop*.

I cut my DSP into strips. Here are my measurements:

* Cherry Cobbler Stripe  (Be of Good Cheer DSP) - 3/4" x 12"

*Gumball Green Dots (from In Color DSP stacks) - 2 1/2" x 12

* Cherry Cobbler Candy Design (Be of Good Cheer DSP) - 1" x 12"

* Multi Dot Design (Be of Good Cheer DSP) - 1/2" x 12"

* Gumball Green Stripes (from In Color DSP stacks) - 1/4" x 12"

I placed the DSP paper about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart (just enough to allow some Cherry Cobbler to peek thru) horizontally across my layout. The varying sizes of the DSP gives the page some movement visually and adds interest (in my humble opinion). Also notice I have some Gumball Green cardstock punched with the scallop edge punch along the bottom edge of the Cherry Cobbler Stripe. My large rectangular mat and the 4 other mats are Very Vanilla. You could use one of the 4 mats to journal or just add photos to each of the boxes. A piece of Gumball Green cardstock breaks up the large Very Vanilla rectangular mat and the Very Vanilla photo mats. Overall a simple design that will focus on my Christmas Papers.

I ended up with 4 of these layouts left over (folks who missed the swap) so my three roommates Sandy, Pat and Gail all confiscated one each. The 4th I gave to my new friend Debbie and I still need to make 1 for my other new friend Lynn (who is Debbie's sister). You need to visit Lynn's blog at http://www.starzlstamps.com

  Lynn even posted a photo of the three of us in the Shiloh Inn Lobby.

Now the other stuff to catch you up on.... I had scans last week that were great but Dr. Baltz feels that I need to stay on chemo every 2 weeks at least to November . Ugh... same thing he told me in June... and I feel certain he will tell me the same thing again in November. I really just want to get out to 3 weeks between treatments. But he knows best... I am just anxious to resume life.

School started (well in services) on this past Monday. Of course the week began with a severe thunderstorm. A transformer was hit by lighting and knocked out the air conditioning in the 3 floor Middle School. These days they do not put in windows that actually open and close in school buildings, so the room was an oven and we had to work in our rooms that day. I had Jenny (my sister) bring me 2 fans that I had loaned her this summer back to the classroom but they did not make much of a dent. At lunch I bought 2 more powerful fans and the room got to be at least tolerable. Yesterday they got all the a/c fixed. Just in time for our Open House last night. Students arrive on Monday. Today and tomorrow are all day in service meetings once again.

One more sad note to add. Barbara (bbkk on Splitcoaststampers) tells me that my friend, Jan Hoyt (Inkerzaway on Splitcoaststampers) lost her father in the past 2 weeks. Jan, if you are reading this, please accept my condolences. I will have a card ready for you this weekend. Have lost your phone number again, so I could not call (okay I know I am a Baby Boomer and that is tech stuff...). Thinking of you Jan.

That's all for me today. I will try to get better about posting.... July just flew past me with Sheffield Sleepover, prepping for Convention swaps, taking treatments and actually going to Convention. Came home SUPER EXHAUSTED and still no transfusions --- ugh.... Plus let's add that week of In Service (okay 4 full days) of In Service training that occurred between my chemo (that I got the day after I came home from Salt Lake City) and the following treatment and scans last week.

Prepping for a stamp class. Will announce dates once I get the rest of the cards cut. It will be at least another week before I can do that. I have my 5 designs and just need to prep. We will be starting with our TECHNIQUE classes too. The first techinque is going to be TRIPLE TIME STAMPING with the stamp set Gently Falling (a fall leaf set)....and I have a masculine card all prepped with the stamp set THE OPEN SEA....

Arlene

3 x 3 cards for Convention

This morning Vanessa pm'd me about the 3 x 3 cards. While I tried to answer her questions in written form, I knew that showing her might make it easier. I am a visual person and it is easier to for me to explain while you are looking at the photos. Sorry for the bad scan but the bottom card was too bulky and lifted the scanner lid.

These are 3 strings of cards for a 3 x 3 Card  swap at the SU Convention in July.

Card 1 - I stamped the image onto white cardstock. Then colored it with my SU markers. Then I matted the image onto Pretty in Pink cardstock.  After matting I colored in my cupcake icing with Crystal Effects and sprinkled some diamond dust in that. I had to sit it to the side to dry overnight. The card base is cut 6 x 3 and then scored at 3 on the long end. I did nothing to the base. As my own personal habit, I did cut a 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 piece of white cardstock to put inside the card. I like to write on the neutral papers of white or very vanilla and not on the darker cardstock.

Card 2 - I stamped the  Naughty or Nice saying with my Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green markers onto Very Vanilla Cardstock. I then punched the sentiment out using a round punch. The  Gumball Green wreath shape is from the new 3 doily sizzlet die. I think it is the medium shape. I just knew when I put the round sentiment on it that it reminded me of a wreath. I added a a bow to the wreath. I took red line tape and added it to my Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon. Then I folded it in half lengthwise. This gave me a smaller width of ribbon to work with for my cards. I made the ribbons using the "FORK BOW METHOD".  I cut the card base 6 x 3 and then scored it at 3 on the long side. I did add a small strip of Be of Good Cheer Designer Paper. The strip was 3 inches across and 2 dots deep. I pop dotted the wreath to this. Of course, there is a piece of 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 inch very vanilla cardstock added to the inside of the card.

Card 3 - The snail card was fun. I stamped the snail onto white cardstock. Then colored it in. I rounded the corners of the white cardstock. Then matted it to the Tempting Turquoise cardstock. I also rounded those corners. After all that, then I added the yellow buttons (they are the ones that remind me of Life Savers!) and added a pearl to the button. I do have a background stamped on the Old Olive cardstock using Old Olive ink. And again there is a matching white insert cut 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 placed inside this card.

Vanessa, I hope this answered all your questions about the swap! Have fun making yours!

Arlene

More Card Candy

This is my other Card Candy Swap entry. I used Stampin Up's Little Friends set. This card candy will make 3 cards. I used the Label Framelits for one design, the Big Shot Scallop Square for another and finally the Big Shot Scallop Envelope for the final design.

I love this sweet little set. I used markers to color in the designs. It is more vibrant in real life. Sorry my scanner does not pick that up. Note the little brads on the wheels of the boy's wagon too. How easy would it be to grab a card base and make a card with any of these prestamped/colored/and matted designs. You could do a very simple card by only adding the card candy. You could step it up a level by adding a textured embossing folder background. You could add ribbons and patterned paper. The point is you can easily go from simple to more elaborate with the artwork provided.

I like this swap so much, I made an application at our scrapbooking/cardmaking group on Ning.com (The Crop Room) to host a both a CARD CANDY and a SCRAPBOOKING CANDY swap in mid July. I got the email it was approved! YEAH!!!! I will post it after I return from Convention.

The only difference in the 2 types of swaps - Card Candy and Scrapbook Candy is the focus. In Card Candy you are making your "homemade" jolee's to work on the front of a several cards. In Scrapbook Candy you are making your "homemade" jolee's to work on a single 12 x 12 double page  scrapbook layout.  I think this will be a neat way to showcase our work and allow my mind to expand in some new directions ! I know (by request of Lois) that one of my scrapbook candy pages will be a "Western Theme". She saw a scrapbook layout I did at Christmas in a western theme and loved it.

On the health front, this is morning 1 after chemo. Things seem to be going smoothly. Woke at 5:30 and laid in bed til 6:15 just watching some TV. Then fed the furrballs and took a nausea pill. Best to keep that at bay you know. I try to stay ahead of it. Had a banana and a bottle of water and need to go take an insulin shot next.

Tanya is coming at 8 to help me rearrange one one in my therapy room. I bought 5 more white cubes at Michael's yesterday. Assembled them all last night. Whew that was work! Kept dropping those little screws -- chemo messes my fine motor skills up alot. Then I put together the new living room lamp. Bought me a swinging arm lamp with a 3 way bulb for my recliner area a couple of weeks ago. Then yesterday, the end table I had been eyeing at Hobby Lobby finally went down to $89. It has been slowly creeping down from $150, which I deemed tooo much money. After all that could be an SU order and a girl has her priorities --- lol. Only another demo would understand and love that sidenote. LOL   Anyway that table is in my car to be brought in. It is moon shaped. I mean the back is straight and flat and will lay against the wall - no more things falling off like the current table. The front is half circle or moon shape as I call it. It has a single drawer to it. Wish it had a shelf but could not find one that did. It is a very dark brown but has distressed marks on it that I could live without. It will be next to a cream colored recliner. My other chairs/ottomans (I have 2 of them each) are a deep brown. The new laminate floor in the living room, goes in on Friday. They are a two tone laminate moving from a medium light wood grain to a medium dark wood grain. Got to run to Lowe's today and grab some pads for the bottom of the furniture to make it easier to move it and then also to avoid marring the floor. So excited to have this new flooring in place of that nasty shag carpet that was here when I moved in! Should of done this at the beginning but oh well.... it is done (or should I say) PAID for now.

Next week I have to go to Sam's and get my moving/rolling steel shelves for my garage. That is the next task to accomplish this summer. I want my 2 car garage organized and the boxes all finally unpacked. I moved into this house 2 years ago and that task is not done. There were reasons too.... moved in July. Sis got ill near the end of July and I went on child duty with Austin. Then I scheduled it for the following summer of 2011. Heck I went out of remission in January and last summer I was on weekly chemo - so that was out. I have to get this done this summer! There is only room for my car in that garage and finding stuff is a pain!

This is the shelving I am probably going to purchase for my garage. At least this way, I can roll the shelves away from the walls to occasionally sweep out the garage. That and I can move the car out and Tanya and I can load directly to the shelves from the boxes. Hate to have to pull out 3 rows deep of boxes to put standard shelves in and then have to unload those same boxes. This way we unpack as we go. Afterwards we simply roll our shelves against the wall (and I get a chance to clean the floor too!). I know I need one shelving unit just for my Christmas tubs. And remember I have alot of my mom's stuff still in boxes. Want to find it all and sort it so the family can go thru once more. There are 3 boxes that belong to sis that mom had packed for her sitting in the garage too.  I think I am going to get 4 of these for now. Later I might go and get another couple for the other side of the room. But I have a large cabinet Bruno (my brother) built for  Mom's alterations business, and an old metal china cabinet and an old metal desk of Mom's in the garage, plus a file cabinet of mine. I just want it neat and clean in there. Shelves along each side and the items organized. I am sort of anal about that and the garage drives me nuts. Hate to say I even have a guest room closet still filled with boxes. I just want my house decluttered!

Okay steriods at work. Can't you see how much I chatter on these things! Geesh.... glad they will be wearing off by tomorrow.

Have a great day! I am off to the therapy room to start moving things so we can set these white cubbies in the room! Might even take photos for you!

Arlene

Convention Swap CARD CANDY

 Wonder what Card Candy is? Imagine having/creating your own Jolee's. You could use them for fast cards or scrapbooking pages. You could use them to amaze your hostesses with a card candy gift for them to use or door prizes to show how you could use a stamp set.

I am hosting a Card Candy swap through Splitcoaststampers at the 2012 Stampin Up Convention in July 2012. I am in two different groups for this swap. These are my card candy entries.

Above you see I used the Stampin Up Mouthwatering stamp set to make 4 different designs with sentiments to accompant the designs. Whoever gets these can make 4 cards simply by mounting them to a card base.

Above is Stampin Up Little Friends stamp set. This time I only have 3 different designs with the sentiments added to the design. I tried to use several of the sizzix dies (scallop square and scallop envelope) as well as the labels framelits. Whoever gets these can make 3 cards simply by mounting them to a card base.

I had participated in a Card Candy swap in January at the Leadership Conference in San Antonio. I loved the items I got at that swap (scroll back to late January posts to view them). So I decided to host the swap at Convention. I have 2 groups of 8 ladies making Card Candy items.

My downline, Micki, did an awesome masculine set with The Open Sea. She did such an outstanding job on hers. But she does not want to show them until after Convention, so I am respecting her wishes.

For those friends on our scrapbooking ning group, The Crop Room, I plan to write Francine to do a Card Candy swap in August or September. Be thinking on it! Let me survive the Convention swaps before I add more to my plate.

On other note. Today was Chemo # 67. Glad it is over. My counts are low -- red blood is at 10.7 but I cannot have a transfusion until it hits 9.9. Normal red blood (the low side of normal) is 12.0. That explains why I am so weak in stamina and of course why I cannot raise arms to lift or move stuff without getting dizzy -- not enough oxygen traveling in my blood. At least I can still sit and stamp and still sit and read my kindle.

All this sitting however is for the birds. I miss having some activity. Hard to loose weight like this -- plus the steriods are NO HELP at all. I am so hungry on the 3 steriod days and my mind races like crazy. I have to take something at night to sleep just to turn off my racing brain. UGH.... Hopefully the August scans will place me back at every 3 weeks for chemo instead of the current 2 weeks.

Okay speaking of food... need to take my night meds (insulin and senokot for the carbo issue and a potassium pill and EAT... told you FOOD drives me for 3 days. Eat, eat, eat. Plus I got a lasix shot in addition to my fluid pills today. So it is off to drink water (so thirsty) and then guess where you have to visit to deposit all that water? I am on my 5th bottle so far today! What a circle! Input and Output.

Have a great evening. Will be back in a day or so with another post.

Arlene

I'm back!

This is the left side of my 8 x 8 layout of March for my scrapbook swap at the Stampin Up Convention in July. I decided to host the swap on Splitcoaststampers and I took the final month. Made me laugh that I got March yet again. I had the March layout in a 6 x 6 swap at Leadership in January. The leprechan was made out of Stampin Up Punch shapes. Then each shape was sponged to add dimensional prior to assembly. Still need a belt buckle on him but I am waiting for the demo preorder on July 1st to order some Gold Glimmer Paper.

This is the right side of my 8 x 8 double page layout. I used the Old Olive Chevron design paper from Summer Smoochies, the Old Olive Polka Dot Designer Paper and a stripe of the Old Olive paper from the Brights Designer Series paper stack. The letters for the word March are from the Stamp Set, Lovely Letters Alphabet. I sponged all the photo mats with Old Olive too.

This is one of my 16 different swaps I am participating in at the Stampin Up Convention on July 18-20th. I have really extended myself and am working like a dog to get my swaps done. Sis is hosting the Annual Sheffield Sleepover the week before Convention, so I need to be wrapped up as much as possible by the 7th of July.

What is the Sheffield Sleepover? Well, on our scrapbooking/cardmaking site THE CROP ROOM over at Ning.com, we get together once a year for an entire week. Folks stay at sis's house or my house if they are out of towners. And yes, we get alot of out of town buddies. Last summer I had Susan P. from Chattanooga, TN; Lois from Russell, KS; and Kathy from Loomis, CA staying at my home. Sis had Sondra from Ohio; Becky from Nevada; Janice from Mississippi staying with her. Then Sue and Mike came from Alabama but they like staying in a hotel. Plus our local buddies, Micki, Nita, Angie, Debbie, and Tanya drop in. We all take turns serving/prepping meals and fun early morning til late at night we are all in sis's Therapy Room (her scrapbook room). She has 4  tables that are 8 foot long. Folks work on cards or scrapbook pages. Some bring things to share or do mini classes with everyone. Some bring work that want to accomplish. Just alot of fun. So that runs from July 6 to July 15 (we have a few coming a bit early).

Then I fly out on Sunday morning, July 15 for Salt Lake City, Utah. I am heading there for a whole week for the Stampin Up Convention, and to see enjoy myself. I would like to get to the genealogy site there too. Want to spend some time with my friend Jackie that lives in Draper, Utah. That first night I am going to a dinner and a swap (recipe swaps this time) with a group called the Late Night Stampers.  Monday, I hope to spend some time with Jackie or doing genealogy research... Tuesday all my roommates are flying in!

I have 3 roommates - first and foremost is my dear sideline, Sandy. She is coming from Denver and is my # 1 SU roomie when I travel to these SU events. Then my downline, Gail is coming from Oregon. Plus her downline, Pat (who has been my online buddy for 10 years!) and I have yet to meet either lady in person. Am excited about that!

This is my 2nd convention. I went in 2008, but then had a relapse in August.... and eventually ended up those 6 weeks in the hospital in late 2008-early 2009. You remember, that is when they tried to get me to go to hospice. Instead, I had 4 more surgeries (God Bless sweet Dr. Gilbert) and got a new oncologist (Dr. Baltz). While I have fell out of remission again since then, I am doing good again. My last surgery was Feb 2011. Cross your fingers that my scans in August let me move out to chemo treatments every 3 weeks. Dr. Baltz kept me on every 2 weeks for the rest of the summer. :<

So much has been going on around here. Got so many things I am trying to accomplish in my time off. Seems this is the 1st summer I have been in this house that I am able to do things. I moved in July 2010. Then school started and I did not ever finish unpacking one closet full of boxes and the garage. Ugh... Then medical leave hit for the next spring/summer and was too weak to do any labor intensive work like that.

Next week I go to Sam's (like a Costco) to purchase these awesome metal shelving on rollers. Then Tanya is coming over to help me sort thru the garage boxes and make some room in my 2 car garage (sadly only 1 car can fit in it right now...). Then on Monday the 25th, I have an electrician coming to work on my lighting in the scrapbook room -- hoping we can get some track lighting above the work tables so I can do classes at night. Finally on Friday, the 29th, I have laminate floors being put in my living room. Can't wait to loose that nasty carpet. I have carpet in the 3 bedrooms, and ceramic tile everywhere else. I should of asked to have the living room carpet replaced when I purchased the house and did not. Oh well, I think I will prefer to have the laminate in there.

Okay that is enough of a catch up. I promise to be better in posting. I will try to get back every day or other day with photos of my convention swaps.

Arlene