Hey there! I found some mojo .. and some time!

Well dear friends and readers, I have been so busy that my blog title is definitely coming into play again in my busy life ... "Wishin I was stampin"  I have been crazy busy with work, and last week Mom and I went to an the Empire Alpaca Show in Syracuse, NY.  Now tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving for a week in Atlanta, GA.  I am excited and nervous all at the same time.  First time on a plane, then a train and probably a cab at least the morning I have to be at the airport at 6 a.m. (because the train doesn't leave that early) uggh what was I thinking booking that early in the morning?  lol

So ... last week I found a little "me time" and made a couple of Christmas cards. They aren't jaw-dropping gorgeous, but I think they are pretty and will be a nice addition to my other umm ... 10 cards out of the 90 I will probably need. Oh geez, I need to make LOTS more. lol


They were both created from card kits I have collected from swaps.  This one has a sweet Maggie image with bell and lots of lovely strings of pearls and pretty matching ribbon.  I went with more of a vintage look and distressed the edges and the background of the image a bit.

This one is a great Santa image, not sure who makes him, but it was fun to color.  I loved the sparkly stars on this paper and the pretty white and gold ribbon matched so well.  I wanted to make a bow but it wasn't cooperating, so a bit of a fake bow wrapped in a star brad worked perfectly.

So, let me know what you think.

KL Stampin N Scrappin Challenge #12

Hey, come join us over at KL Stampin N Scrappin for another week of fun with a great color challenge hosted by Risa West! Here is my submission for the challenge. You don't have to have KL Stampin N Scrappin products to play along, but if you do . . . why not use them?!

I used Chef Tilda who is currently all but sold out (she's on sale ya know) and the BasicGrey Cup of Tea Bitsy Set. They aren't tiny at all . . .

but kinda a half sheet of stamps (acrylics) that sell for only $6/set. pretty good deal, I think.

I even tried to stick with the theme when it came to coloring my Chef Tilda, but WOW black hair is tough to color, ya know it?! The little cup on the inside had to be re-dotted so the dots were white instead of all that pink showing through. Can you believe that inside piece was what I started with when I made the piece that Tilda is setting on? Yep, I think it's a scrap piece of rose red (forgot to look it up and its 2 a.m. so forgive me if I'm wrong I will correct in the later a.m. LOL). I pieced it on the black but then decided I wanted it dotty too, so . . . I grabbed the swiss dots folder, then I thought it would look pretty with craft white over it. Although I really love my craft white I have a terrible time waiting patiently for it to dry, so I covered it with clear EP. then it was in between the dots, so I had to make it more uniform and used versamark to color it in more to get the glossy look all over the paper . . . then before you know it --well, it almost looks more red than pink (sigh that's close to pink though and its late so its all good) *wink*

I think Faith aka Markie's Mom would REALLY love this card with all these polka dots, whatcha think?! I hope she stops by! :) That would make my day! I have loved Faith's dotty cards for quite a while now.

Stop by to see what the other girls on the Design Team created, and if you post at SCS or PCP, please use KLSNS12 as your keyword/tag. Thanks!



Inky Hugs and Happy Stampin!

Thinking of You (new beginnings)

I am thrilled to be a guest designer on Stampin Sisters in Christ Challenge blog today!! I don't think I gave them my best card ever, but I DO like it. The challenge for this week is to create a card in which you are "thinking of someone" or "praying for someone," and my Edwin card was created with a friend and his granddaughter in mind. You see we were all baptized together last month, and I thought the egg represents "new life and/or a new beginning" so I am sending this one out to Jim and Kylee this week. You can find all the other details about the card on the SSCC blog, so stop on by there and say "Hello" to the gals at SSCC.

Thanks for stoppin' by and Inky Hugs,

Lots Happenin' at KL Stampin' N Scrappin'

Oh my gosh, there has been so much going on behind the scenes at KL Stampin N Scrappin that I am dizzy and a bit giddy with excitement! The newest Magnolia order is on its way. The BasicGrey is on its way. I am excited about adding High Hopes stamps, too, but have only had about 5 items ordered for them so far. So . . if you are interested in something from High Hopes that isn't shown in our store inventory, please let me know, and I can add it. I would like to send Bethany a big ole first time order from KL Stampin N Scrappin, but I don't want to hold onto a lot of the older stamps if you already have them too. (watch for a new release coming between November or January from HH too).
This page was created for a circle journal in which a group of good friends from over at SCS and myself have been participating for a while now. This year we are to decorate the folder pages to show our stampin' style and a little bit about ourselves. Well, my son is a very big part of my life, so this page was about him. All the time growing up Cody would stick salamanders or tiny toads/frogs in his pocket and everyone said he was "all boy," so although we have never had a lizard this Edwin reminds me of him. Also the Lime Rickey paper is perfect for boys and bright colors, right?!

This page was created with the Clarabelle and Riley stamp, but I just had to cut out Clarabelle (sorry girl) and add an alpaca since they are another big part of our lives (although we don't care for them on a daily basis as the farm is at my parent's home), we do LOVE to visit and take part when we can in shearing and showing, and watching a birth (when we can). I also used the Spots and Dots folder and rectangular nesties on this page. I kept the pages mostly flat so that they closed nicely in the book with all of our other goodies in there, so not too many embellishments here.

Also . . . we have surpassed the 15K mark according to our counter over at KL Stampin N Scrappin DT blog, and I am very proud to share a few goodies I got at Target the other day with 2 LUCKY WINNERS, so . . . head on over there by Monday night 12 ET for a chance to win this collection plus your choice of one of the Rachelle Anne Miller stamps that are in stock at the store.

Thank you for stopping by, and stay tuned for the details about the Design Team Tryouts coming soon, too! :)

Hugs,

High Hopes, Basic Grey, Magnolias

(Please note: The card was created by Kristine Breach and not me . . .

I apologize for any confusion, but as she is on my design team,

I have used it here to show you the stamp in color.)

I was sure busy stocking the store this week. Stop on by to see the new stuff I will be ordering in this month and save some for yourself today!! :)

There will be new Magnolias (Little Yummy for your Tummy collection), some older Magnolias because I had a request (2008 Halloween ones), new Basic Grey collections, and new to our store -- High Hopes!!

The Magnolias are always AT LEAST 10% off and some are up to 35% off! The coupon code for this month is SAVE5, which you can use on any order over $30 for $5 off, and last but not least, do you like the new Eerie paper from BasicGrey?!

Well . . . if you order one of the Magnolia Halloween stamps in the store and another $15 in orders, I will add a pack of Eerie paper to your shipment for free!! (yep, that's right FREE). It won't show up on your order, and don't click on it unless you want more than one, but I will add it when I package your stuff.
So stop on by and see what's going on at KL Stampin N Scrappin! You will be glad you did.

Wishin you the best . . . little lion

This sweet lion image from Magnolia really captured my heart. Isn't he sweet?! I know most of them are, but I just love their "puppy dog eyes." He was colored in with my Copics and sponged with SU summer sun and old olive ink for distressing on the edges. These papers and embellishments were also included in my card kit I created for Lena's Magnolia card kit swap. The papers used were Green Fatigue and Palm Fronds. The sentiment is from the Riveting set (don't look too close this one smeared a little), and the main image is the Lion from Magnolia stamps. The cs in the layers are both old olive from Stampin Up and Palo Verdes from Bazzill (?think I spelled that right as the labels are now gone on their way to Lena's home . . . lol). I sure hope you girls in the group have fun with these Magnolia kits. I know I can't wait to see what everybody sent. It will be like Christmas getting them in the mail.

Speaking of Christmas, we recently added the new Basic Grey as preorders at the store along with preorders of the Yummy collection from Magnolia. I am totally excited that we are soon going to be adding High Hopes stamps to our line-up at KL Stampin N Scrappin store, so stay tuned for preorders soon so I know what you girls need or don't need. I don't want to order in stamps you already have. So if there is something you are looking for from High Hopes, shoot me an email or comment here and I will try my best to order some of those in. I will be posting a few on the site, and then I decide on how many of that individual stamp I will be ordering for the site depending on the response from you girls/customers. I should be ordering them by the end of the month, and this month may very well be the last month I order from Magnolia stamps due to the restrictions on the wholesale orders.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a GREAT day!

Hugs,

Card kit Sample using Tilda with Lilacs

This sweet little Tilda was from KL Stampin N Scrappin where they sold out very quickly earlier this year. It is Tilda with Lilacs, and since she was so popular I thought I would use her with my card kit for Lena's Magnolia card kit swap. So, after getting my DP together, stamping the images, and collecting goodies to go together well with this image, I decided to create a card to show you all. Of course, the more I played around with the kit, the more I decided to add to the kits I am sending out as well. This card is 5 1/2 inches square, so I also included the white card base (some thick cardstock my SIL got for me from work that *gasp* they were just throwing away -- Thanks, sis!). The chocolate chip CS is from Stampin Up and the pink is textured CS from Bazzill. The DP I used was pink polka dot from "Me and My Big Ideas" and BasicGrey "Two Scoops."

Here is a photo of the inside as well created to match the front. Sorry for the faded shades of the photos. The lighting is poor today with an overcast sky. :(

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing You Sunny Days

Hello there, readers! :)

I am wishing you all sunny days!! We have had a pretty wet summer here in Pennsylvania, and now it is getting hot and muggy . . . ohh boy, but ya know before we know it the leaves will be changing and it will get cooler. So, I am not complaining really. When I saw this Tilda Animal Keeper stamp, I knew I just had to save one of them for myself!! This Tilda reminds me SO much of my mom when she is doing chores with her rake and bucket or water/feed. On second thought, maybe I should have stamped a few alpacas in the background to make her look more like Mom. :)

The card stock was run through the tiny mosaic folder to make it look more rugged and then layered on dp with vines and flowers from the Junebug collection. The tag is also from the Junebug "Do Me a Favor" kit. The image and layers were either trimmed to incorporate rounded corners or punched out with Label One dies to keep the same uniformity. Tilda was also colored with Copics, Sakura sparkly gel pen and a Signo white gel pen for highlights.

This Tilda card is on its way to my mom to send her a little happy mail. The sentiment says "Wishing you sunny days . . ." and the inside says "and smaller bean piles." LOL I think she will get a chuckle out of this, I know I did. I just hope she doesn't see this post before she gets it and spoils the fun.

Thanks for stopping by,

Spread your Wings and Hop Along with Us

Welcome to KL Stampin N Scrappin's

first Blog Hop!!

The design team is so excited to see what you ladies are going to come up with for our Sparkle themed Blog Hop, and also to share some Sparkly creations of our own. If you are playing along, you have arrived here from Sparkle's blog,

but if not that's okay, you can start back at the beginning HERE.

This sweet little DragonFly Tilda is spreading her wings to take off on a life-long journey out of the roses and into the big, big world just like the young lady that will be receiving this set! I created this sparkling sweetie as a gift for a friend's daughter who just graduated this past June and will be off on her own adventures in the armed service. I know Tilda doesn't look ready for basic training, but she is definitely flying off on an adventure . . . don't ya think?! The sparkly items I used on her are . . . Stickles on her wings and antennae, shimmery ribbon, as well as pretty golden butterflies on the upper right hand side (its so hard to get sparkle to show in a photo, isn' t it?)

The shimmer really shows in the green sheer ribbon though. My inspiration here came from Cheryl's lovely bows and my "basic training" in bow making from when I sold Home Interiors (now don't you laugh). *wink*

Inside the cute Tilda folder are 8 Rose designer paper OSW cards created from the assistance of my dear friend, Luanne! Thanks, Luanne!! These are all Stampin' Up materials from the stamp set to the paper. I do hope Kristen likes them too. They are on their way to sunny South Carolina!

Although I hope she does not have to use this one any time soon, the lacy feel of the edge and the pretty dainty flowers makes this one definitely a favorite (0f mine) from the group.

**Now more details on the hop . . .

If you would like to play the word scramble,

my word for you is "with"

and from here you'll want to make your way over to Jessica's blog.

Reminder: you must leave a comment on the DT blog and ALL the DT member blogs to be eligible for the GRAND SPARKLY prize along with sending the correct phrase to steinrn@yahoo.com with the KLSNS SPARKLES in the subject line

by 9pm Saturday August 8th. (by the way there are 8 total blogs including the DT blog).

We would love for you to join us and make a Sparkly creation of your own - if you post it on your blog with a link to the KLSNS design team blog (leave us a comment there), and we'll enter you again. Plus, who knows what I have up my sleeve, I just might be giving away some other surprise "blog candies" so be sure to leave some luv everywhere! (wink!)

Check out the KL SNS design team blog to see some photos of what you can win!

Thanks for stopping by, good luck,

and remember you have until

Saturday, August 8th to play along!!

Hugs,

Lots of great Magnolia stamp ideas here . . .

Oh my goodness! Did you see Jessica's cute-y?! It's Tilda with ice cream. Mmm, looks so good (the ice cream) but the card too!! Jess used bright, cheery primary colors to really grab your eye. I LOVE it!

Stop on by -- KL Stampin N Scrappin DT blog and see!!

My Tilda with cat card will be posted tomorrow too! :)

Hope you are having a Fun-filled summer!!! Don't forget to keep an eye out at the DT blog, too. We will be having a Blog Hop as soon as we finish ironing out all the details. I can't WAIT!!

Hugs,

Gift for Mom and Dad

Good morning! Do you have a hard time deciding what to get your parents for their anniversary? I know I sure do. They have everything, ya know? And if they do tell me they need to get _____ (fill in the blank), the next time I go visit them, they already have it.









So . . . I thought for their anniversary this year, I would try to take them on a little trip down memory lane and still create something pretty that I know my mom will enjoy too! :) (not that Dad doesn't smile from ear to ear when I give them something handmade anyway). I think he is surprised his computer geek daughter does something with her hands other than type -- HA :D





So . . . here is my little creation without the personal photos . . .





Items used: Stampin Up carousel notes, chocolate chip and pretty in pink cs, BG Bittersweet paper pack, SU index tab and photo corner punch, stamps from Magnolia and Stampin Up, Stickles, misc ribbon and embellishments, BG small magnet for closure, and a pretty gem from KristineB for the tab on the front (Thanks, Kris!)

Thanks for stopping by to take a look! Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

Hugs,

P.S. -- Don't forget about the sale going on all this month at KL SNS! We are starting to run out of things already!! :) Check out the details below:

WHAT'S THE SPECIAL CODE?!

June25 . . . or . . . June50

Spend $25 get $5 off your order

or Spend $50 and get $10 off your order!!

**Note: Pease be sure to click on APPLY COUPON for this to take effect.**

WHAT'S NEW TO THE STORE?! Check out the Preordered items coming soon. These are items I have on order that will be arriving this month!! C.C. Designs has new Sugarplums and GingerSnaps just released this month, too! They are on their way and should be here June 5th

ALL THIS NEW STUFF COMING . . . WE NEED A SALE!!

I have so much new stuff coming from our new wholesalers that I need more room. So . . . through the month of June, ALL Spellbinders dies currently in stock are 15% OFF

. . . and . . . ALL Cuttlebug folders that are currently in stock will be 25% off NOW through the end of THE month of June! Get them before they are all gone.! At these prices, they will be going fast!

Thank you, ladies!

A big thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday!! You helped to make today very special for me. :) Here is a group shot and a few close-ups. I hope to show you more this week when I have time to post again. Note: My camera was acting up this morning somewhat blurry -- bare with me.
Half of our kitchen table was covered in cards.

This sweet image from the It's My Birthday collection (C.C. Designs) was watercolored by Deb Corder in bright primary colors. The photos don't do it justice, as I think my focus was a bit off.

Another sweet image (Ginger Snaps collection from C.C. Designs) created by Kristine Breach a very dear friend to me and fellow DT member for KL SNS. Kristine always uses such amazing detail and lots of layers. Her cards are truly an inspiraiton to me. She is selling them now on Etsy too. Stop by her blog to get the link and take a look!!

This beautiful collection is from Jessica George a long-time friend, secret sister, and fellow DT member also. Jessica's goodie box was SO much fun to open. It was like Christmas. I kept pulling one thing, then another . . . a tablet and pen, matching tin with PB cups (mmm), bath flower confetti, a sweet Inkadinkadoo sentiment stamp, adorable Tilda images and very well coordinated set!! She is WAY too good to me! Hugs, Jess!!

This beautiful never-ending card has gotten a lot of attention since it entered our home earlier this week. Any friend or family member that has seen it was very much intrigued. Thanks, Eileen, for this very unique card. I will show more photos of this one later this week, too. It has about 4 scenes on it that I know you will love to see!! :)

The work week is a busy one, as I am training a couple of new girls and so that means conference calls on both Monday and Tuesday this week, so I hope to be back sometime before the end of the week to show you more closeups of some more of these cards. Stay tuned for more.

Hugs to you all! :)

A WHOLE ALPHABET?!!!

I have a whole alphabet of dies up for grabs, and only 11 players interested?!! Wow, you ladies surprise me!! :)

The Julius font is still up for grabs on our KL Stampin N Scrappin DT blog . . . hurry over there, because a winner will be chosen this weekend!! You have until April 11th (tomorrow) at 12m ET to get your creation made and your link to your blog on there. HURRY -- you don't want o miss it, do you? This set has all the alphabet and numbers 0-9!! It's a great set (heavy too for shipping). So go to the blog and check it out!!

For your enjoyment . . . a sneak peek of a new Tilda card. Details will be on the DT blog too. Check it out there tomorrow.

Hugs,

Here comes . . . Tilda and Edwin

I saw this cute little bunny in Tilda's arms and instantly the Peter Cottontail song pops into my head. Well, Easter is coming faster than you might think, and unfortunately this year I am not looking forward to it. This year Easter makes me another year older *sigh* that means another year closer to 40, but hey . . . this card is just too sweet to discuss depressing things like that, right?! *wink*

I fashioned this card from Lim's sketch that I saw on Kristine's blog, but then I moved the panels around a little bit more, so not sure it still qualifies for the sketch. Don't ya just hate to cover up that pretty DP? I know I do. The patterned pieces are all from an Easter pack that I purchased last year before Easter from Oriental Trading (I know, I know they are not from the KL SNS store but they do have some really nice paper for layering mind you, it is kinda thin).

Anyway . . . all of the layers are from that Easter pack except for the pretty in pink in the bg, which is Stampin Up. The yellow layer was run through my Textile cuttlebug folder, then sanded so the white would show through just a little bit, and placed under the paper pieced Tilda with bunny. We are currently sold out of this little cutie but you can order her again this weekend if you don't mind waiting on the order to go in. She won't be back in time for Easter, but I think the animals with Tilda could be used year round. I will surely plan to use mine all year.

Here is a closeup for a better look.

I couldn't make an Easter card with Tilda and not Edwin -- So here is Lucky Edwin used with the Easter Egg stamp to create an Easter card for a boy, too. I even decorated the inside of this one. Now I have to do that with the other one. *wink* I think they look so very nice with the inside matching the outside.



Card details: Lucky Edwin, Easter Egg, Two Scoops BG paper, bashful blue and ballet blue, embossed with tiny bubbles cuttlebug embossing folder, prismacolor pencils, gamsol, white gel pen by Signo, and Labels One and flourish accents from Spellbinders

Lastly, don't forget to stop by the store and see what has been added this weekend. I have quite a few Spellbinders sets available after the finally got here. Mostly because I ordered extras, and then I think I re-ordered a few of the back orders. Ahh well, who doesn't love those Spellbinders dies, although the wait usually kills me. The ones on the website that you see are available to ship now, so no extra wait time.

I have also added some of the new Butterfly collection stamps. If you don't see the one you are dying to have -- let me know, and I could possibly add it to the list. The smaller the selection, the more of that item I can get. I have to order in 6 of each stamp you gals (and/or guys) want, so let me know if you don't see it in the store -- if the "demand" of the crowd is reasonable, I can add it too. They are all so cute, unfortunately I can't just get one of each. Kinda like chips, who could anyway?! lol

Don't forget the April coupon code too -- APR2009 can be used on an order of $50 or more to receive free first-class shipping!

Hope you have a great weekend, are able to get inky, and have fun Stampin N Scrappin!!

Hugs,