Perfectly Penned birthday

 

I celebrated a big milestone birthday this past weekend (okay, this past WEEK), and there were so many highlights. But my favorite thing was this card my hubby made me!

 

He said he found the already-embossed Crumb Cake layer, though he had to cut it down to layer on the card front, as well as the Very Vanilla oval. But he stamped everything, punched the ticket and added the antique brad and glimmer brads.

 

He even added this wavy Crumb Cake strip inside (another find in my file drawer). I love my hubby so much! He's the best.

 

I'm not one to fixate on age. It's more about how you feel, I think. And I feel young! What is nice, is hearing from all of my friends and family. I am feeling the love, and I truly appreciate it. Here's hoping you feel the love today!

Amazing cell phone purse and charming note

 

My dear friend Kim has some mad skills! Look how cute and functional this bag is. Kim sewed cell phone purses with an extra pocket for credit cards and ID for me and members of my American Ink downline who attended convention - 11 in all. Mine also shows off a sneak peek of the burlap ribbon in the Holiday Catalog, which starts August 1.

 

Thank you so much, bestie! You rock!!! As a side note, it was a very exciting time for Kim this past week - three of her goats were pregnant and ready to pop. She's got five new kids, two boys and three girls. She's thrilled! And her farm is bustling with activity, with the animals and the garden.
 

 

I never finished showing swaps from our last American Ink gathering. This 3" x 3" note was designed by Holly, one of my downline now living in Pennsylvania. I love how bright and cheerful it is. It uses Mosaic Madness, Quattrefancy designer paper and the Mosaic embossing folder. The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Banners.

 

 

There's a great Starter Kit special going on now. You get to pick a free kit in addition to $125 worth of SU! product for only $99. You can join through my SU! website at http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net.

 

Offer: New recruits get to pick one of four project kits for free in addition to their starter kit when they join Stampin' Up!  Dates: July 15-August 31, 2013

Kit Options:
The first three project kits are from the holiday catalog and the last option is from the annual catalog.

Option	Kit Description	Item	Total Value
1	Build a Banner Simply Created Kit AND Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit	133507 132698	$29.90
2	Build a Banner Simply Created Kit AND Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit	133507 132697	$29.90
3	Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit	133463	$19.95
4	Tag a Bag Bundle AND Tag a Box Bundle	131371 131372	$22.45



I'd love to have you join my American Ink team. We have alot of fun! And we have a Stampin' Retreat coming up Aug. 9-11 at my studio. I'm prepping a couple of 3d projects for everybody, and I'll have totes of cards to make as a service project benefitting our troops and a local nursing home. You may bring whatever projects you wish to work on and use my stamps, inks, Big Shot and accessories, paper cutters and so much more! It'll save you lugging tons of stuff around. lol

Ears to You single stamp cuteness

 

My friend and downline, Cheryl, created this bunny wonderful card, for me using the single stamp Ears to You. I sent Cheryl this stamp for promoting to supervisor. She's got two recruits now - congrats, Cheryl! Whoo hoo!!! I love the texture the embossing folder adds, as well as the rhinestone bling on the Pool Party satin ribbon.

Say "love you" with a simple sketch that works for guys

 

This card is perfect for my son's birthday, coming up in a couple of weeks. I used the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and coordiating Bitty Banner framelits.

 

 

I started with a Crumb Cake card, and added a 3" x 4" tag of Sycamore Street dsp with some yummy satin Island Indigo ribbon, then used the Hearts framelits to diecut a big heart that I ran through the Honeycomb embossing folder for some great texture. It's a clean, straight-forward card for my loving boy. The best part is I got the Sycamore Street paper and ribbon for FREE, and the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set is also a FREE option when you order $50 during our Sale-a-Bration event. Here's the sketch I very literally followed:

Here are the rules for Freshly Made Sketches:

1. Please use any crafting product you would like to use.
2. Feel free to combine our sketch with up to THREE other challenges.
3. Please add a DIRECT link to your blog when adding your card to the linky below.
4. Please include our sketch and a link back to Freshly Made Sketches on your post.
5. Have fun!

This challenge will end on Monday, February 4th at Noon (PST). On Tuesday, we will be announcing the winner of this week's sketch challenge who will known as the "Queen of Clean" and each Design Team Member will choose one "Princess". To add your card, go to http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com, Challenge #71.

Sharing a special day of love

 

This is just the ticket for somebody you love! Or two tickets with a heart clip!

 



 

Achievers on my American Ink team came to my studio yesterday to make four special projects - this is one of them. It's a Pretty in Pink card with a Basic Black layer that has been stamped and heat embossed in white with smudges and lines to look like a chalkboard. I add two stamps from That's the Ticket (Spring Catalog Item 128075 clear for $16.95) on a knot of 1/8" Whisper White taffeta, then finished it with a Cute Clip from the Elements pack (Item 129939, $4.95). The lines were made using a white crayon, though my gals got to use a white pencil I had at the studio. It worked much better! I used stamps from Animal Talk, Field Flowers, Word Play, Hearts a Flutter and Itty Bitty Banners. I'll share the other projects this week.

 

Here's one of the things I made for our lunch - a Spinach Strawberry Bacon Salad I found on Pinterest. It also had walnuts and red onions with a dressing that's included in the recipe. I got the photo and recipe here. It tastes SO good! My hubby and kids enjoyed the leftovers, though my son didn't care so much for the dressing.

I also made Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and a Pink Lemonade Pie. Those recipes are also on Pinterest under my Favorite Recipes board.

 

 

Here in the United States, we have the day off to celebrate the observed birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (His birthday was January 15.) My kids are happy to have an extra long weekend. I went to Atlanta in 1985 and visited MLK, Jr's Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was a co-pastor with his father during the civil rights era of the 1960s. It's an historic site. He truly was a great man whose words mean something even today. I bought a soft metal keychain with part of his "I have a dream" speech on it and used it till all of the letters rubbed off. MLK, Jr. Day is a day of service. Plant a tree, lend a hand to someone in need... just make a difference, share the love, and have a fabulous day. :-)

 

It's all girly-girl for Monkey Challenge #108

Being a girl is a lot of fun. I mean you can do anything you want, like wear your prettiest dress, put a fun hat on your head and stand on an alligator! Check out the sketch first, for A La Card Monkey Challenge #108: Girly + Sketch, then look at my card under that.

Can you imagine having your daughter pose like this? It's crazy, but oh what stories you could tell! lol

I had to start my girly card with a Vintage Wallpaper-embossed Pink Pirouette card front, some pretty designer paper, a Victoria crochet trim bow held on with a vintage trinket safety pin, and pearls.

I was thrilled to get the Patio Party dsp FREE as part of a bundle for recruiting during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration event earlier this year. In another FREE bundle - this time for having the title of senior manager - I received Betsy's Blossoms and the new 2012-2014 In Color Markers (see the Raspberry Ripple on the bird from that stamp set, along with Midnight Muse on the Itty Bitty Banner sentiment. The second largest Label Framelit is what I used to diecut the shape behind the bird.

I stamped the bird twice, cut out his wing and added dimensionals underneath. Then I replaced his vacant-looking white eye with a pearl. All of the above may be found in the new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! Catalog! I have boxes and boxes here at home, so if you want one, let me know. My club members will receive a special spiral-bound catalog - my treat! There's still time to place a $50+ order online through my website (click on the icon in the left-hand column) to get a free new catalog. It'll be shipped separately from your order - but via priority mail.

One last thing: I went to a garage sale with my hubby and a neighbor today and found the stuff pictured above. I love old things - especially stuff used in the kitchen and that still have a little paint left on them. I also love the wood-handled screwdriver and the cast-iron fan. The only thing I'm not sure of is the domed metal container on the left. It has thin metal handles on the top and bottom and pulls apart. Do you know what it was used for? Please let me know, if you do! I'd appreciate it. Have a wonderful weekend... and a Happy Mother's Day.