Valentine for my sister

Just a quick posting this morning before I head off to my Mother's Club meeting. Lauren is leaving today to go to visit my sister, or more accurately my nephew who is having his 2nd birthday on 2/22. This will be her first trip away from me. She'll be gone a week! I'm trying to contain my anxiety. Last night we went to the mall and converted an old cell phone into a "Go" phone so that I could call her at will. We bought her some books for her trip and came home and packed everything up. Her flight is early tomorrow so she is spending the night at my parents, with whom she is traveling. So my valentine to my sister is a week with her "Lola", but I thought I would send a card as well. Today I'm going to work on a fun card for my nephew's birthday for her to take as well.

My kids had a great time over Valentine's weekend going to a local ski lodge. Jason's Boy Scout troop goes every year, but this is only our second time going. Conditions this year were idyllic with the snow the day before. Last time we went it was in the high 40's and icy - but this was great! As you can see these pictures are posed, but they really had a great time and became quite good by the end of the day - even tried the black diamond slopes!


Jason tried out the snowboard at the beginning of the day, but changed to ski's after a while.
All of this activity has made watching the Winter Olympic's more enjoyable - and I think for the kids more impressive since they now know how difficult it is to do!

Enjoy your stamping day!

Susan

Hello, is anyone out there?

I have been blogging for over a year now, and one thing that I'd like to work on this year is getting comments from those of you that may be followers. I have quite a few hits to the site, but no one ever seems to give feedback or questions like I see on other craft blogs. In order to make this site more helpful, it would help me to know what I can post that you would be interested in. While it's a great place for me to carry on my childhood habit of writing a diary, a little feedback would probably help me be more consistent in posting, as well as encourage me that I'm not just self indulging. So, please post a comment and count it as a Valentine for me!

With that said, here is something you can look forward to in an upcoming class!~ I made this for my best stamping buddy, Amy N. It is a coordinated gift set including a necklace, card and gift bag! I had so much fun doing this - very little stamping involved, more of a paper folding and Big Shot project, so it actually doesn't take much time!

The project for the class will include these three elements, but will be with different papers. These papers are Stampin UP! retired DSP. Keep coming back for the class posting soon to be announced!

And here is a trio of valentine cards I made for my children and my dad. I embossed the card stock with a CuttleBug plate bought in a previous lifetime - and then used the darling set "Cold and Cuddly" from our mini Holiday catalog for these cute kid friendly cards.

This set is no longer available, unless they put in the next full catalog. The beauty of doing cards for my own use and not for demos, is that I do get to use the stamps I've invested in! This is one that I can see keeping for awhile - at least until my kids - and all kids I know - outgrow them!


My final card for today is the one I made for my husband. I used the Specialty paper called "Groom" #116478 on page 158 of the main Idea Book and Catalog as the base for this card. Then I layered my message on a scalloped punched card stock overlaid on a metal edge tag. A splash of red and a heart give this a formal, yet masculine look perfect for my favorite valentine.

Speaking of my valentine....time to get the kids in bed, make the chocolate martini's and head for the bathtub....;-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Susan

Hearts for Haiti

I taught the past session of our church's Sunday school classes myself this month. We studied the seasons of the church year focusing on Epiphany, our current season. It was a really successful program, but the best part was using our "Kids Can!" theme to make some valentine candygrams! The kids are amazing! We brainstormed on what we could do to help the people of Haiti, and one of the ideas was candy grams - like they do at school. So, with the help of my friend Amy Nielsen, the kids made a bunch of valentines and sold them at church last week.You can see they were really diligent workers. We set up an assembly line (some of the kids had helped pre-cut supplies so we could make enough during class. I was really impressed with how well they did the stamping and punching.
This little gold fish cracker-gram says on the back "but most of all you!" We wanted to offer an option other than candy because we do have many diabetics in our church.
These are made by cutting off the bottom of small paper bags and pasting them between two top note die cuts. These were really popular - we sold out! The tops of the bags were stapled at the bottom to use for the fish valentines above - no waste!
And our bird seed valentine - I can't remember the blog that I CASE'd this from. It has a darling poem on the back.

One of the things that I'm a firm believer in is that if you are a privileged person, then it is your responsibility to help others that may be less fortunate. And I think it's important for kids to learn at a young age that "even the smallest person can change the world".

Are you ready?! The kids raised over $250 in sales, which will be half matched by Thrivent for a total of $375! Pretty cool!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

Valentines

I've heard people say that Valentine's Day is a "Hallmark" holiday. I think that is SO untrue! Hallmark has had very little to do with valentines in my life, except maybe when I was in college and had no time, nor supplies for anything crafty. When I was little, valentines were all about making things out of paper doilies, glitter....lots of glitter as I recall.....and sequins. It was the ultimate girly thing to do! These are the valentines we made in my Stamp Camp...the one that could have been if anyone had come!!!! LOL....next time. More will be posted later, but this one shows the bag to hold all your cards in, and my favorite card - the one with handmade paper buttons.
These buttons are really easy to make. Simply punch out your shape many times out of card stock and layer them together with glue or permanent adhesive. Then punch out the DSP and layer it on top. Next, use your crop o dile to punch the button holes through all the layers. Finally, coat the top with some Crystal Effects and let it dry. They are a really fun element that will coordinate beautifully with any paper you are using!

I will be hosting, back by popular demand, a new cupcake birthday class soon. We will be making 3 cards plus another birthday version of this darling bag to keep them in. You can give them as a gift or use them for a special someone!

Smiles,

Susan

Old Friends

"Just a Hare Past your Birthday"
I had the pleasure of getting out some oldies but goodies and working with them for some birthday cards last week. I love this funny set - but haven't had the chance to use it since it retired. One of new year resolutions was to "shop" in my studio before adding to my collection. So many papers and supplies that are lovely - that are just inventory right now! Time to put the to use. I "stamped a stack" and was able to get 8 cards out of one 12 X 12 designer paper. So now I have some cards for use when I need something quick - and that so often happens to me!

I really got stuck on this layout - but that's a great way to show how different a card can look just be a simple change. If you haven't tried this ribbon and button effect, it is a great way to use the wide ribbon on a card. I find it very difficult to make a bow that doesn't overwhelm a card when working with this ribbon.


My valentine class was a total bust - where was everybody! Anyway, I'll be posting some samples from that soon. I hope you'll attend the next one - end of February or early March. We'll be making early Easter things and perhaps a St. Paddy's card or treat holder.

Smiles,

Susan