More wedding preparations and finally I got to use a color besides Concord Crush!  Certainly Celery is a welcome change!  And what a great opportunity to use the fabulous Medallion stamp #115223, the best-selling stamp last year, I believe.  This stamp is so versatile, whether you want a background, something elegant, something large….stamp it with ink, emboss it, do Poppin' Pastels on it (really pretty!)….so many choices!  And it is so much fun to play with the new bling in this year's catalog…..rhinestones and pearls!

I've been absent from posting for a few days because I have been busy shopping for shoes for the wedding…mainly so that I can go get my dress hemmed, if necessary.  It's not an easy task and one I have always hated. Even though I might like new shoes just fine, my foot is a lousy fit.  It's rare that I try on a pair of shoes and think, "Wow! These feel great!"  And now, to be shopping for dress shoes, especially FANCY dress shoes, well, it has just been miserable!!

So in honor of the endless shoe shopping, here is  a card with shoes on it!

This stamp set, Things I Love, was one we received a year ago at the Stampin' Up! Convention.  There is also a stamp of a piece of chocolate in the set, but I didn't think a black piece of chocolate would look that good…even though I probably love chocolate more than I love shoes!  

The lighting isn't very good, but there is some bling on this card!  I added some black glitter to the shopping bag with Tombow Multipurpose Glue (just push the teeny sprinkles back in to the image with your fingernail to make sharper edges) and the shoes each have a Rhinestone on them as well as the heart.  And it is so fun to punch out a little heart with the Small Heart Punch!

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Stamps:  Things I Love #115229

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Basic Black, Regal Rose

Ink:  Black Stazon

Accessories:  Small Heart Punch #117193, Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates #114512, Scallop Trim Border Punch #118402, Black Chunky Essentials Glitter #108797, 1/8" Black Taffeta Ribbon #119261, Basic Rhinestones #119246

Yes, I did buy a pair of silver shoes that look lovely and hopefully I can wear them long enough to get through the ceremony and get photos taken….now if I can just convince my feet of that!

Finally got photos of some of my swaps I got at the Stampin' Up! Convention!  You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them and get a closer view.  If you have a question about something you like, just contact me and I'll try to answer it.  Enjoy!

This tote looks even prettier in person!  The buttons really pop out!  So pretty!

If these great swaps stir your creativity and you need some stamps and supplies, you can order online anytime at my Online Store!

Believe it or not, I finally made my Make & Takes from the Stampin' Up! Convention just last night!  The day at Convention that I was scheduled to do them I was EXHAUSTED for one thing, plus it was my last opportunity to take pictures of all the displays….AND I really turn into a mess when I stamp in a big group like that!  Fortunately, I'm not the only demonstrator that I have heard of that suffers from that same condition!  When I sit down, I feel like everyone else knows what to do but me and they are all doing it faster!  So I have come to the conclusion that, if I know I have the materials at home, I should just wait and then enjoy solitary stamping!  Brings back the memories of fun times at Convention, too!

Thanks So Much Card Pocket

This is a Small Open-End Envelope #107286 with the long side slit open so that small cards and envelopes can be inserted.  I would show you the inside but I made a "slight" boo-boo with the circle punch (not reading the directions!).  I can fix that later, but haven't yet!  You can always fix things in papercrafting!  The stamp is the single stamp, "So Many Thanks" #120173.

Some Things Have to Be Believed Card

They gave us a mask to use…the negative paper from cutting Circles #2 with the Big Shot….so we could sponge three colors of ink for the background and then stamp with the beautiful new set "Just Believe", page 109 in the catalog. This is a 3×3 card and Mini Square Whisper White envelope.

Thank You Watercolor Card

I loved making this card, the watercolor effect is so pretty, especially on the Watercolor Paper #105019.  I think we don't use this watercolor paper often enough.  I inked up the stamp from "Just Believe" using Stampin' Write Markers, spritzed it with water in a spray bottle (very lightly), then stamped it on the watercolor paper.  Of course the Small Open-End Envelope got stamped, too!

Paisley Prints Heart Card

Putting the little Basic Pearl #119247 on the tiny flower punched with the flower in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack #118309 just makes this card, I think!  Love the new pearls and rhinestones in the catalog!!  The stamp set is Paisley Prints, which you will find in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog and the Paisley Party Stampin' Around wheel #120875 on the envelope.

Paisley Prints Pumpkin Card

I really loved making this pumpkin with the new set coming in the Holiday Mini Sept. 1st, Paisley Prints.  The ribbon is just folded over with Mini Glue Dots to hold it and the wheel Paisley Party is used on the card and the bottom of the envelope.

Just for You Pouch

This pouch was real easy and so cute!  Just punch a slot with the Word Window Punch and cut the flap to fit.  Stamp the images from the Just Believe set and make the tiny cute cards to fit inside!

This has been a long process and it has barely started.  Of course the invitations should be going out soon, which just adds to the pressure.  I didn't realize how long it would take to write everything up to fit my idea and get agreement from the bride (long distance).  It has been an engineering and computing feat for sure.  Apparently I did not really know how to compose wedding invitations on a computer, or at least our printer wanted me to think I didn't.  Thanks to my online group of Stampin' Up! demonstrator friends on SUDSOL, who are always standing by to help with any question, I was able to (hopefully) get my computer skills up to par and everything (hopefully) sized correctly…..but we shall see in a little while when I go to the printer.  If you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and not a member of SUDSOL, you should really consider membership.  You can get a trial offer to see how it works and if it suits you.

Will I come home in tears because I did everything wrong or it won't print out right, or will I be jumping for joy??  Will there be a wedding if no one gets an invitation?  Stay tuned! 

This one I actually copied from the anniversary card my husband gave me!  I made a smaller version, but a similar idea.  This card is 4" x 4", with the front flap cut a little shorter so that I could add a strip of green designer series paper on the inside layer that would look like grass from the front.  And then it adds a little design on the inside of the card as well.

The flowers are stamped with Petal Pizzazz. I drew in the stem and the little leaves are Pocket Silhouettes.  Hard to see in the photo but there is a little bling on the flowers from Dazzling Diamonds Glitter! 

This was a fun, simple card to make!  If you'd like to make one, you can look at the stamping supplies HERE.

The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus is in Houston, TX this week! I saw a story on the local news the other day about the elephants, and that plus this new Designer Series Paper Sunny Garden #119831 inspired me to make this card.  I used the Bigz Scallop Circle Die #113468 and cut a portion out to make the "bigtop" roof and then just a small square for the sides, cut a slit and turned back the "tent flaps" with a piece of Basic Black card stock #121045 behind it.  The elephants from Animal Stories #116716 are stamped with Basic Gray #109120 and one is cut out and adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals #104430 to pop up.  The words are from the stamp set Oval All #113790, punched out with the Scallop Oval Extra-Large Punch #119856 and mounted on the 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch #119859.

On the bottom I sponged a little bit of Soft Suede ink #115657 and for the sky I used Pacific Point ink #111837.  I just grabbed a scrap of the Scallop Circle, put that down on my Whisper White background and sponged the edges, moving it around to make it look like clouds.  Nothing scientific about it, I just did it!  You can too!  

Card stock I used:  

Whisper White #100730

Crumb Cake #120953

Poppy Parade #119793

You can get all your stamping supplies for this project and more at my Online Store!  Shop anytime!

In my box of new goodies from Stampin' Up! last night was this new Designer Series Paper, Sunny Garden #119831 and the new Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch #119275.  I wasn't quite sure how I would use that punch, but after playing around today, this is what I came up with and decided to do the three strips layered.  I really like it!  The flowers are stamped with Watercolor Trio (Summer Mini p. 16), colored with the Stampin' Write Markers.  The colors I used were Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, and Concord Crush.

Do you have your new colors yet??  You can email or call me with your order or you can shop at my Online Store.

Thank goodness stamping does not require electricity!  It has been raining and raining and raining all day here in Houston.  The power went off before 10:30 am, and threatened to even before that, so what is a girl supposed to do with no computer or TV all day??  I got out stamps, ink and paper since I could see pretty well at my kitchen table by the window and made this card!

So Tote-Ally Tess and I had a pretty good time this morning.  I just kept stamping away until I was satisfied with how the card turned out.  To begin I consulted my new Color Coach #121620 to find a color combination I wanted to use and Sahara Sand, Regal Rose and Tempting Turquoise is what came up!  You'll love the new style Color Coach!

I also got to work on switching out some of my retired stamp sets and markers and cleaned up a few things.  Good day for that, even though I needed a flashlight now and then!  The power finally came back on at 4:00 pm although they say on the news (now that I can watch it) that thousands are without power.  Naturally ours came on just in time to cook dinner, but probably better than being out driving because there are so many spots that flood.  Now if I can just drive to the Park & Ride to pick up my husband!  They even had to set off some of the fireworks downtown today that were being set up for the 4th of July display because the bayou was getting high, just to be safe.  Wish I could have seen that!