Hey there, stampers! I'm so happy to report that we're almost there. Just about everything is packed... even our suitcases. I've still got a list of chores, though... everything from cleaning the refrigerator and the range to disconnecting my desktop computer and printer. Those items will be accomplished today and through the weekend. There are some boxes that need sealing up, but that won't take long. Our master bedroom closet is empty at last! And Value Village has a new supply of used clothing! Here are some photos to document our accomplishments:
Recognize the dining room? I guess the chandelier gives it away. Here's the upstairs "catwalk..."
And our "oh so lovely" bedroom...
One last shot of the great room
I think you'll agree that the decor is just amazing! The worst area by far is the garage. It is almost impassable there are so many boxes piled up there. So far this move has been super-challenging. The process of downsizing and then packing has been overwhelming at times. But I knew if we worked hard, we'd come to the end of packing and we are 99.9% finished. We're still alive and we're still speaking to each other, so I count that as a great achievement. Sorry I don't have a card to show you today. I hope you understand that getting ready for the moving van has been my top priority. I will be blogging on and off the next couple of weeks. I hope to show you some photos of the new house once we get down to California. It's going to take a while for me to show you some new cards, though, as I will need to get settled into my stamping space before I'll have any time to create some new cards. Thanks for stopping in to read today! Have a great warm weekend! Hugs and happy stamping, Susan
The days are going by so quickly this week... a little too quickly for me! It's Wednesday already and we are working hard to finish packing before August 2nd is upon us. Today is the day that I'm going to finish packing all of the kitchen supplies. We will be eating breakfast and lunch here, but dinners from now on will be eaten elsewhere. I've got a supply of paper cups, plates, bowls, and utensils, but everything else is going into a box by the end of the day. If I stop to think about it, I could probably get all teary-eyed about the fact that I've cooked the last meal I'll ever cook in this kitchen. But honestly, I don't have time to shed tears. I'll just keep packing instead! Here's a card we made at my "last ever" stamping party. It would be perfect for a summer birthday. Do you seem to have a lot of people in your life with summer birthdays?? I certainly do! The rest of the year, it's a birthday here and a birthday there, but in the summertime, it is Birthday Central, at least for me.
This fun card says "Happy Birthday" inside. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of that. I used the new Stylized Birthday stamp on page 16 of the annual catalog. I love the font and that it's a large stamp. It takes up quite a bit of room so you don't have to write too much inside the card :) The "By the Shore" Suite of products is just perfect for summer birthdays, because the beach and summer go together like peanut butter and jelly, like Ricky and Lucy, like cookies and milk! The stamp set in this suite is called Seaside Shore (page 93) and it includes both images AND words... my favorite type of stamp set. I used the new Seaside embossing folder, the By the Shore DSP, some Calypso Coral Thick Baker's Twine, and some Bermuda Bay Sequin "bubbles." The sentiment was stamped with Calypso Coral on Very Vanilla Card stock, since the background of the DSP is Very Vanilla, not Whisper White. The base of the card is Very Vanilla, topped with the embossed panel in Soft Sky. The mat behind the DSP is Mint Macaron. One of the best things about this card is that it can be used for just about anyone... male or female, young or old. If you had a stash of cards like this, you'd be ready for all your summer birthdays! Thanks for visiting me today. I hope to be back on Friday, but I can't promise. It depends on how much I get done in the next couple of days. Hugs and happy stamping! Susan
Thanks for coming over to visit on this summery Monday! How was your weekend? Did it include something fun like going to the beach? Camping? Maybe a family reunion or another family event? Whatever you did, I hope it was memorable! I had a memorable weekend as well, but for an entirely different reason. I packed up my stamp room... something I'm pretty sure I'll remember for quite a long time. I'm so very thankful that I did the big purge of products at my garage sale, because if hadn't done that, I'd probably still be packing. I showed you a picture on Friday of the big mess my room was in as I began the job of packing up. Here is how it looks now... nice and neat with boxes ready to be loaded on the truck.
We are making good progress with our packing and soon I will "pull the plug" on cooking and get the rest of the kitchen stuff in boxes. My goal is to finish at least one day ahead of time... maybe two days ahead. That will make for a much more relaxing move. I'm pretty sure you'd be OK with me showing you a card today, so here's a pretty one I got from my friend Carole Remme on my birthday.
Isn't this just a beautiful card? I love the combination of the Botanical Garden DSP and the pretty Soft Sky flowers. Carole used the very popular Botanical Builder Framelits (the top of page 194 in the new annual catalog) to create those lovely three-dimensional flowers. Of course the paper isn't available anymore, but I know that many of you bought more than one package, so it shouldn't be difficult to re-create this gorgeous card. I don't recognize the sentiment... it may have come from another stamp company. Thank you Carole, for such a pretty card on my birthday! I love it! That's all for today, friends! I've got a closet full of clothes that I need to start packing in wardrobe boxes, so I'd better get started. According to the weather page in Sunday's Oregonian, we are in for some summer-like weather this week. I'm hoping the warmer temps will help us get ready for the 100+ degree days we'll be having once we get to Woodland. Check back with me on Wednesday, because I hope to be blogging then. Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hey there stampers! I've got another pretty card for you today... one that I received from a friend for my recent birthday, but before we get to that, I want to show you my stamp room in all its messy glory. I'm planning to have this all neatly boxed up by the end of the weekend. We'll see if that actually happens.
Thankfully I got rid of a lot of old merchandise at my garage sale, so there's not nearly as much stuff to pack as there was before the big purge. But still, there's plenty! Here's the card for today, created by my dear friend Rhonda.
What a fresh and feminine card! I love it! Rhonda used the "carried over" Wild About Flowers stamp set that's on page 112 of the annual catalog. The background DSP is from the English Garden collection in last year's annual catalog. I'm pretty sure many of you have a nice supply of this paper. Why not get it out and make a pretty card just like this one? The layers behind the DSP panel are Blushing Bride and Rose Red. The flowers are stamped in Blushing Bride and Rose Red ink. and the sentiment, from Endless Birthday Wishes (page 22), is stamped in Rose Red as well. What you can't see in the photo above, is that Rhonda added sparkle to her card with the Wink of Stella pen by brushing it on the flower petals. I hope you feel inspired to get out some stamps, ink, and paper and create something beautiful! May the weekend ahead be filled with fun and relaxation! Hugs and happiness, Susan
Sorry I missed blogging on Monday, but I did warn you that I might be off schedule this week. Packing MUST be done, while blogging is optional. I will be sharing birthday cards that I've received from downline members and friends. I think I've already mentioned that I just don't have time to sit down and create cards at this point in our move. Today's pretty card was created by Stephanie Perry, one of the talented stampers in my group. She used the Helping Me Grow stamp set, which you can see on page 40 of the annual catalog.
The card base is Tempting Turquoise. Stephanie stamped the cosmos in Basic Black Archival ink, then water colored with an aqua painter on watercolor paper. I'm totally guessing what colors she used, but I think the flowers were colored in the new Sweet Sugarplum. The stems, I think, are Emerald Envy. The flower centers could be Crushed Curry. The background was filled in with Pool Party. You could change up the colors and still have a gorgeous card. That curvy sentiment is from the Balloon Celebration set on page 24 of the annual catalog. It is stamped on Whisper White card stock in Basic Gray ink. Some Thick Baker's Twine in Whisper White tied around the top repeats the white of the sentiment banner. Thanks, Stephanie, for sending me such a pretty card on my birthday. You can see more of Stephanie's beautiful work at stefperry.blogspot.com Well, my friends, I enjoyed this little break from packing. However, I hear the empty boxes calling my name, so I'm going to say goodbye for now. Have a wonderful Wednesday and please come back on Friday, because I'm pretty sure I'll have time to write another post. Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hello again! It's Friday and I'm ready to blog about the Fruit Stand Suite from Stampin'Up! Whenever I see a fruit stand, I think of my mom. She was a fruit stand "freak," and in our travels around California to visit various relatives, she'd want to stop at every fruit stand along the way. It used to drive the rest of us (my dad, brother, sister, and me) crazy! When she was in her late 80's and 90's and unable to drive, her dearest wish was to be driven to Andy's Produce out in the countryside near Sebastopol, California to pick out fresh fruit and veggies. When I visited her, that was something we did quite a few times. When I first started taking her there, she would walk holding onto the grocery cart and in her later years she had to use her walker, but nothing was going to keep her from going to her favorite fruit stand! Maybe eating all those fruits and vegetables had something to do with her long life (97 years!). So here's a bright and summery card that features the Fruit Stand Designer Series Paper... a beautiful mix of berries, peaches, pears, apples, with some stripes, dots, and flowers thrown into the mix. You can see the whole suite of products on pages 148 and 149 of the annual catalog.
I used three strips of the strawberry DSP, glued them down to the Real Red panel and then ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the new Petal Burst embossing folder (page 195) to give the card a quilted look. The sentiment is from a new stamp set called Layering Love on page 71. I stamped the sentiment in Cucumber Crush on Whisper White card stock, then cut it out with one of the new Layering Oval Framelits at the top of page 193. I used a slightly larger scalloped oval die to cut the mat. Some of the new 5/8 " Mini Striped Ribbon (page 178) in Cucumber Crush repeats the green. I love how this card turned out and hope it inspires you! I'm going to make an effort to blog a few times next week, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to stick to my Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. It all depends on how much progress we make with our packing. If I do have to take a break, I'll let you know in advance. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll hope to see you back here on Monday for more stamping fun!
Hello there, stampers! Thanks for checking in with me today on this mostly sunny Wednesday! In fact, the weather report says it will get all the way up to 80 degrees today. Hopefully, we'll have more summer weather coming our way soon! Have you noticed that pineapples seem to be everywhere? I've seen pineapple stationery, pineapple dishtowels, pineapple designs on plates, paper napkins, fabric, and of course to be "on-trend" Stampin'Up! now has a couple of pineapple images in the new annual catalog. There's a small one in the Pop of Paradise set on page 85, but the the big one is on page 124. It's actually a background stamp. I'm not sure why pineapples are suddenly trendy. Who decides these things? Flamingos are having a surge in popularity as well. Why? Well, back to pineapples! I'm sure by now you've guessed that I have a pineapple card to show you today. Here it is...
This is an early birthday card that I received from my wonderful downline member Janet Jones. Janet's birthday was yesterday and lucky girl that she is, she's in Bermuda for her birthday week. I don't have the Pineapple stamp yet, but it is on my wish list. It's only $14 for the clear mount stamp (the red rubber that is mounted temporarily on a clear block). Check it out on page 124 of the annual catalog. I think Janet colored directly on the stamp with Old Olive and Crushed Curry markers, misted the stamp very lightly, and then stamped on watercolor paper. The sentiment is from the "must-have" Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set on page 90. If you don't already own this extremely versatile set, I suggest you get it sometime this year, because who knows how much longer it will be in the catalog. The Word Window punch that she used is now retired, but the new Classic Label Punch (page 186) is designed to work perfectly with this stamp set as well. Oh, how I wish I had time to play with all the new stamp sets that are just sitting on my shelf! I've started the process of packing up my stamping supplies, so it's going to be a while before I'm able to create anything new. I'm really missing my stamping time, but it's a sacrifice I have to make in order to get everything packed. Hope everyone is having a good week! Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hi stampers! It's Monday of a new week and the packing marathon continues. This weekend the Seattle gang came down and Amy and Eli went through all of the bins they had stored in our attic 5 years ago when Eli began his doctoral program at the UW. I had no idea they had so much stored with us, and they had forgotten just how much was here as well. We now have a large pile to take to the dump, along with more household goods to donate. Will it ever end? I have hope! This will most likely be the last week that I'll be blogging for a while. There's just so much that needs to be done that I'm going to have to call a halt to all things Stampin'Up! and concentrate on boxing up all the remaining "stuff." Today's card is yet another swap I received on the cruise. It features the "Playful Palette" suite on pages 118-119 of the new catalog. This suite was one of the ones that demonstrators could pre-order, so I think that's why I received so many swaps made with this group of products.
This card is by the well-known demonstrator Connie Babbert. You can see more of her work at www.inkspiredtreasures.com. She used the Painter's Palette stamp set along with the new In-colors Emerald Envy, Peekaboo Peach, and Sweet Sugarplum. The strip of DSP from the Playful Palette DSP stack repeats the colors. The saying "Your idea to have a birthday was simply a stroke of genius" is part of the Painter's Palette stamp set. She used the new Layering Squares Framelits on page 193 to cut that cute scalloped square. So far I've purchased the Layering Ovals and the Sweet and Sassy (heart) Layering framelits, but the Layering Squares are next on my wish list. It will be awesome to have so many sizes of squares at my fingertips and of course it's much more economical than purchasing 19 different sizes of square punches. May your day and week be a good one! Please come back on Wednesday for more stamping ideas. Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hey there, stampers! It's Friday once again and that means it's time for me to blog! I'm not sure I can keep up with blogging during this move, but I'm giving it my best shot! Since I've been spending my days packing instead of stamping, I may run out of cards to show you. I would like nothing more than to put the packing on hold while I play with the many new stamp sets from the new catalog, but my conscience will not let me play when there's so much work to be done. I do have a great card to inspire you today. It's another swap card that I got on the cruise. This is such a classic layout that I'm suggesting you sketch it out and add it to your collection of card sketches. Here, have a peek...
This clean and classic card was made by Candy Rattray. The sentiment is from the Friendly Wishes stamp set on page 105, but there are tons of sentiments in the catalog that would fit easily on this 2 1/2 inch circle. The Mint Macaron panel measures 3 1/4 by 3 3/4 inches. The DSP panel is 3 by 3 1/2. The banner along the left side is 1 1/2 inches wide by 4 3/4 inches long. The card base is Basic Gray. You could easily change up the color of the card base, the DSP, and the banner, as well as the sentiment and have a great looking card in no time. That's why I like to keep a notebook of card sketches. Then when I need to design a card, I get out my notebook and find a sketch I like. Next I choose a sentiment and colors. You'd be surprised how quickly a card can come together when using a sketch. One of my favorite online sites for card sketches is freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com Check it out sometime and while you're there, print out some of their sketches for your own card sketchbook. Having a collection of sketches at the ready is almost as good as money in the bank. Almost. Well, my friends, it's back to packing for me! I hope your Friday goes by quickly and smoothly and that the weekend ahead is smooth sailing. Hugs and happiness! Susan
Howdy stampers! Hope you've all recovered from a very festive 4th! The fireworks set off by our Woodhaven neighbors were definitely the illegal kind. The booms, blams, and blasts started at dusk and went on and on until sometime after 11 pm. I would love to know what all of those fireworks added up to... a serious amount of money I'm sure. Meanwhile, with no grandchildren here this year, we didn't purchase so much as single box of sparklers. The packing process continues! Today we made some good progress, but there's still much, much more to be done. Thankfully we have until the end of the month to finish. Are you ready for an unbearably cute card? Check this...
How I love the new Baby Bear stamp set! You can see this cuteness on page 61 of the new annual catalog. We made this card recently at Donna's stamping party. This is a three-step stamp set, but the card I'm showing you has just two of the three layers. The first layer is Crumb Cake and then the second layer is Soft Suede. I used Blushing Bride for the background and embossed it with the Lucky Stars embossing folder. Wouldn't this be a sweet way to welcome a new baby girl? This was a quick card to make, even with the bow being fussy-cut. To make this card for a baby boy, just swap out the Blushing Bride for some Soft Sky and you're good to go. After experimenting and ruining quite a few pieces of paper, we found that it is easiest to start with the image at the top of page 61, then add the solid image in a lighter color. This set is not just for babies, though. There are other sentiments that add a lot of versatility, such as "love you beary much," "thank you," "to hug and to hold from this day forward," "something for baby." "hello baby," and "thank you." Well, my friends, that's it for today. I wish I could say I'm heading off to lunch with some friends or going shopping, but I'm going back to packing now. Please come back on Friday and I'll show you another classic card. Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hello and Happy 4th of July! I'm pretty sure that a lot of my readers might not be reading today because they're at the beach, the mountains, the Columbia Gorge, Black Butte, Sun River, or maybe even across the river at the Skamania Lodge. Oregon has so many great places to enjoy the outdoors! Unfortunately, I'm not one of the people who is out enjoying the sights. I'm here surrounded by boxes, packing paper, and a house that is pretty thoroughly dismantled. The pictures are down, the houseplants have found a new home, 90% of the dishes are packed, and I'm almost finished packing in the garage. Up next... the stamp room. Then I'll attack the kitchen cupboards and pack up the seldom-used pots/pans/bakeware, etc. This is a monumental task, that's for sure! So glad we didn't wait until we are even older than we are now to do this much-needed downsizing! Well, I know you came here to see a card, so without further yakking about our move, here it is...
Isn't this card just fabulous?? My friend Rhonda Wilson is the creator of this fun flag card. I love the way it looks as though "Old Glory" is rippling in the wind! Rhonda used the new Swirly Scribbles Thinlits (page 194) to cut the stripes of Real Red. She embossed the Night of Navy backing for the stars with an embossing folder from a few years ago. I wish I could remember the name of it, but I'm pretty sure many of you have this one. She used the Number of Years stamp set and the coordinating Large Numbers for the Happy 4th" sentiment. I'm so glad she sent me this beautiful card and even happier that I can share it with you. File this idea away for next year. Your friends and relatives will love getting a card like this! Have a wonderful 4th of July celebration! Hugs and happiness, Susan
Hey there! Happy July and happy Friday everyone! Got some fun plans for the weekend ahead? For many, today is the start of a 4 day star-spangled weekend. I hope you've got something planned that you are really excited about. As you know, we are in packing mode around here, so we'll be packing throughout the holiday weekend, with maybe a little break here and there. I'm determined to finish early, so we are working hard toward that goal. Here's a fun card that we made at Donna's party last week. This little guy is just the cutest!
As soon as I saw the new stamp set Foxy Friends ( page 57 of the new catalog), I knew that it was going to come to live at my house. Luckily, I received it, along with the matching punch, FREE on the recent Mediterranean cruise. I haven't had much time to play with it, but it's a super-versatile set. You can create all sorts of animals with it.. a cat, a deer, a raccoon and of course Mr. Fox. The sentiment comes from the Party with Cake stamp set ( page 14). I used the new coordinating paper stack A Little Foxy (page 174) and pulled the colors directly from that. The fox is stamped in Calypso Coral and details are added with the Tuxedo Black Memento Pad (p. 180). The base of the card is Whisper White. Layered on top of that is a Smoky Slate panel that was embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder. The Calypso Coral panel behind the fox really helps him "pop." Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you'll be able to squeeze in a little time for creativity. Life is just more fun when you stamp! Hugs and happiness, Susan
