It’s been a busy, yet productive week around here.  Monday we helped my “little” brother finalize some of his college preparations, went grocery shopping, and visited the service department at our local Saturn dealership (for my mom – the only non-productive part of the day).  On Tuesday I made 2 loaves of banana bread and a sympathy card (unfortunately 2 of DH’s coworkers passed away last weekend – my heart and prayers go out to both of their families), as well as tackling Mount Washmore.  On Wednesday, Nadya and I went to swimming lessons and dropped the bread and cards off at the funeral home.  Yesterday, Nadya and I took one of our neighbors to Costco so she could check it out – we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the visit – plus my friend Del donated her Costco coupons to me – so we stocked up on a few things and saved some $$ too!  Hooray!  I also finished the 2nd sympathy card that will head-out via mail today.  I think Yasha will be able to attend the service tomorrow as he was unable to attend the one yesterday.  This morning I finished 1 of the 2 cards I’m working on for a “blue” swap.  Lots of activity but lots of fun too!

Here’s a little peak at my creative ventures this week:

The image is Pansy corner from Serendipity stamps that I stamped onto Whisper White CS (SU) with Memento Tuxedo  Black ink.  Instead of markers, I used my Prismacolor pencils (note to self – need the 12 new colors too) to color the flowers and then stippled Vintage Violet (SU) onto the CS and used a fantastix bullet tip to add the ink to the edges.  Then I trimmed with my large rectangle and scallop nestabilities and mounted onto Elegant Eggplant (SU) CS. I used a piece of shimmer patterned vellum from my stash and drew the border on it with a dark. purple sharpie marker.  The lace is from my stash, but I’m pretty sure it’s from JoAnn’s.  I then layered and adhered everything onto a 5×7 card made from Whisper White CS. I stamped the sentiment (SU) in Vintage Violet.

For the inside of the card, I layered the remaining piece of vellum onto an an Elegant Eggplant  mat.  I printed the verse (found on the internet) onto shimmer CS and then trimmed with my Top Note die (SU).  I made a coordinating envelope – white on the outside with a purple liner.

For this card, my husband asked that I keep it simple, so I stamped the tree (Lovely as a Tree, SU) in Always Artichoke onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed the image with my long rectangle nestabilities. I inked the edges with Always Artichoke and another fantastix applicator and mounted onto Old Olive CS (SU) that I scalloped.  I used my SU 1/4” circle punch and tied a piece of ivory grosgrain craft ribbon (Hobby Lobby) through the hole.  I ran my Naturals Ivory card base through my Big Shot with my SU Flourish texture plate and stippled Always Artichoke lightly across it.  I added a bit of of Gold Magic Mesh before adhering the tree.

I layered old Olive Panels on each side of the inside and printed the verse (again, found on the internet) onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed it with my labels nestabilities and inked the edges.  I repeated the process with another piece of Naturals Ivory CS, but instead of printing, I stamped the Sentiment (SU) in Always Artichoke.

For my last bit of creativity, this is one of the cards for my swap submission.  The guidelines were that I had to use blue as the predominant color and that the card had to be a 4×4 square.  So, this little cutie (and an attempt at working with a hybrid approach) was born.  She’s a digi-stamp from Inky Impressions (they gave her away as a blog freebie and they’re also having a Design Team Call).  I printed her onto white Georgia Pacific CS (Sam’s) – I made the sky background paper myself in Photoshop (thanks Bunny – I loved the overlay) and the grass is a digi-paper from Garden Greens by Kim Broedelet.  She’s colored with a mixture of mediums, including Copics (E00, E02, E33, RV11, G09), Spica pens (Clear, Black, and Blue), and SU Markers (Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Green Galore, and Close to Cocoa). The little flowers are Prima with Silver Stickles centers.  The blue bauble is from Suzanne at the Crafting Connection (soon to have her own store).  I trimmed and mounted her onto blue gingham DP from The Paper Studio The Basics 12×12 pad (Hobby Lobby). The base CS is DCWV The Spring Cardstock Stack.

Whew – I told you I’d been busy! I still have a couple more in the works, but that’s be another post! So, I’ve covered the’ “cards” part, now let’s move to the candy!  La-La Land is opening a new store, having a Design Team Call and giving away some fabulous animal-themed candy including the SU punches and 3 new Magnolia stamps from the Summer kit (deadline is August 5)!!! 

Now, for the and more…lots of new stuffies in the DSO store, and tomorrow all of the new challenges will be up!  Hooray!  Just look at what the team has been up to (and keeping the QA team on their toes)! 

Ok – I’m heading out! I found a Dell Studio laptop for an absolute steal at Staples, so I snagged it for my little brother (it’s a surprise for college and he doesn’t know about it yet).  I ordered MS Office Pro 2007 for him and need to get it and his new printer (another surprise – there goes my crafting budget) drivers installed.  Have a fabulous weekend and give someone you love a hug!

Well, I guess more accurately, I should say a card making morning.  We have a birthday party to attend this evening – the daughter of one of Yasha’s coworkers is turning 4.  I don’t know the little girl or her family, so I wanted a kid-friendly card that was personal but not too specific – if that makes sense. After rummaging through my stash of stamps and not finding the “perfect” one, I turned to my trusty EHD and found an adorable dragon digi-stamp by Dustin Pike just waiting to be used (I just  last week discovered Dustin’s blog – he has several “free” stamps to whet your appetite with – a lots of adorable and well-drawn stamps available for purchase).

The card base is from Bazzill – I loved the color and that it was already textured for me; the mat is from DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack (some Joann’s stores may have them on clearance).  I printed Dustin’s digi-stamp on CS from Georgia-Pacific (I got it at Sam’s).   I drug out my Copics (G02, G07, G21, RV14, V12, Y21) and Spica pens (Clear, Blue, Green, Pink and Yellow) and enjoyed coloring this cute lil guy (or girl). I used my Stampin’ Up Small Corner Rounder Punch too.  The sentiment is written with my Pink Passion Stampin’ Write marker.  I added the pink, green, and blue flowers from Prima’s Got Flowers Mini-Petals (I snagged them as part of a bundle at Overstock.com) and used Ranger’s Crystal Stickles to create the flower centers.  The inside of the card has the same theme and reads “To Wish You a VERY Happy Birthday”.

Products I Used:

Spica (On-Sale for 20% off right now)

Ranger and Prima

Stampin’ Up

I guess that’s all from me – Nadya has had a horrible cough all week (and NO she’s not contagious). Two trips to the DR and she finally got a steroid shot and is still doing breathing treatments.  Apparently when she was so sick in January, she had some strain of RSV and it scarred her little lungs.  We’re just hoping that the damage isn’t permanent and that she won’t develop full-scale asthma later.  I have it and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone!  So, it’s time for another treatment and maybe a nap! Have a fabulous weekend!

So you guys know that I’m a stamp junkie – with floral stamps and images that allow for fabulous coloring opportunities being my favorite! So, its no surprise that I’m very excited about the upcoming Whiff of Joy and Magnolia releases.

After receiving my Summer release of Willow and Oakley stamps, I have been anxiously awaiting the next kit from Whiff of Joy, featuring artist Elisabeth Bell.  The wait is almost over – the latest Whiff of Joy kit is available for pre-order until August 7.   Although the actual images included are a “secret” until the stamps are shipped, the pre-release bundle is a fabulous bargain – the savings is over 50% off compared to buying each image individually! The kit includes 5 main character stamps, 3 large accessory stamps and 6 sentiments (in English). To sweeten the deal, owner Katharina Frei is offering a chance to win the entire release – check out her blog for more details (candy runs through Friday, July 26).  Soon it will be time to stalk my postman!  Hooray!

Diana at Magnolia-Licous has put together a couple of bundle packages featuring the Summer Magnolia releases.  It’s a tough choice, but I think my favorite is the Lazy Days bundle (Surf’s Up is super cute too) – the giant ice cream cone and strawberry accessory stamps are just awesome and I love Beach Tilda’s little pigtails – they remind me of my little one! Please check them out…you will be so impressed with the groupings that Diana has made for you and the delightful extras that she always adds!

Moving from the stamping world to the digi-world… our DSO design team has grown! We’re so happy to have the following talented ladies joining us:

Linda Walton (coming August 1st)
Sharlene Hudson (SHOP NOW)

Designs by Sassy (SHOP NOW) Miss Mis (coming soon)
Kim White (coming soon)

I’m the featured designer this month at DSO – which means I’ve created a special FREE kit for you (available until July 31) and my entire store is on-sale! Yup – every product is less than $1!  Plus, if you join this month’s Great Exchange, you’ll receive some fabulous QPs including an ENTIRE 5×7 alphabet album created by Jeannette aka Memory Keeper.   Kristine has a fabulous new freebie on her blog as well.  She’s created mini-kits named after her CT members and some of our favorite colors! This week is Leslie’s week!

And, from the “real” world – yesterday we lost an American icon! Walter Cronkite passed away on Friday evening at the age of 92! With him passes an era of responsible and unbiased journalism and media reporting.Quoting Dan Dubno of The Huffington Post “Walter Cronkite defined the role of a television news anchor. Today, the job he perfected has largely lost its relevance. News no longer waits for a single trusted voice… and “the way it is” depends on who you choose to believe. Some claim to be “fair and balanced” and are clearly neither. Cronkite genuinely believed journalists could and must be “objective.” It took a man of great character and outstanding humility to so sublimate his personal views and inherent bias to achieve that rather impossible standard.” He was one of a kind – his integrity will be missed!

Lastly – in case I haven’t said it recently – I”m so proud of my husband! Yasha is talented in many areas, but he loves cars and well, most anything with an engine!  About a month ago one of his coworkers discovered he had a cracked head in his pick-up (read big $$) and was quoted a ridiculous price to have it worked on…so Yasha told Jason he’d do the work if Jason bought the parts. To make a long story short, they spent all of yesterday and most of this morning swapping the motor in his pick-up.  It’s not 100% yet, but it is drive-able and with another couple of hours of minor tuning, it’ll be good as new – plus they were able to put in a BRAND new, more powerful engine for less than what Jason had been quoted for a smaller remanufactured one.  I wouldn’t know where to begin – but that’s what Yasha is the Mechanical Engineer and I’m not. Anyway – I’m just proud of his ability and his generosity (and I’m sure his tools were happy to get some use too). 

I’m headed out for now – have a great weekend!