Shelli's SIP Challenge

This month's challenge given by Shelli Gardner (co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!) was to create a SIP card. That is, a card using only Stamps, Ink and Paper. No ribbon, no brads, not even dazzling diamonds! (yikes!) A tough challenge for me these days, as I like to use embellishments to add extras to give my card more dimension and pop, especially since I am not one to layer, layer, layer, like so many of my favourite stampers do. However, I was determined to come up with something for this challenge, because it seemed it would be fun to challenge myself the SIP way!

This card was great fun, as it turns out! I decided to try weaving, which was recently written about in a Stamping Success magazine (SU's magazine for demos). So I weaved. And it was fun! I used the new Cottage Wall dsp. (Don't those stripes look sharp when they're weaved like that?) Then I ran it through the Big Shot with the clear circle die. As a background, I cut a Rich Razzleberry Scallop circle (my new favourite colour! But chances are, you already knew that-LOL). I have recently acquired the Many Thanks sizzlet die and thought I would try it out. And of course, the Butterfly die provided me with the perfect finishing touch! Normally I would use some kind of bling for the butterfly's body, but used the horizontal slot punch-it fits in there perfectly!

So that's my challenge for this month-I did it! I hope you like it! If you happen to try some weaving in a card, please feel free to send me the link in the comments so I can check it out!

Have a great day!

RMHC class

This is the second half of the class I recently showed you the cards for. I cased this purse from someone, and couldn't remember who, so I couldn't post this without first doing a bit of research so I could give the proper credit. I now know, I cased this from Becky Roberts over at Inking Idaho. Her cute little purse was so adorable, I knew I had to try it. I didn't have the cute polka dot paper she had, but I did have the new dsp with my new favourite colour (Rich Razzleberry!) in it. (you know I had to throw that into today's post! LOL) So this is what I came up with. I was able to use the new clear circle die instead of the coluzzle to cut the circle-shaped dsp for the top of the purse. And, because I just received the new daisies die, I used the smallest daisy with a jewel brad as the clasp on the purse.

So the class I held to help support the Ronald McDonald House charity consisted of this purse and the four cards in the previous post. Janice and Anne joined me last night to put together their purse and cards, and it was a great time, chatting about Disney World and other places we've travelled to. It turns out that Anne and I were at Disney world at the same time this year-and we didn't even know! What a great surprise that would have been if we'd have seen each other there! It would have been quite the surprise!

If you decide to try this purse, send me a link in the comments section, I'd love to check out your version of this adorable purse!

Have a great day!

A Worthy Cause

Here is a portion of a class I'll be teaching this Thursday and next Tuesday. It uses the Very Thankful set on the back inside cover of the catalogue. This is a special set because it is this year's Ronald McDonald House Charities set from Stampin' Up!. That means that every time someone buys this set, $2 goes to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. As a mother to two healthy girls (knock wood), it's easy for me to take for granted that I don't have to go to a hospital just to see my girls, and that I don't have to watch them be subjected to tests, needles, drugs, and operations.

I can't imagine what it would be like, living with that kind of stress, and feeling like there was nothing I could do to take away the hurt. It was bad enough for me when my niece, who was born prematurely this spring, was being pricked on her ankle so the nurses could have a blood sample. They were a-squeezing away on her poor little ankle trying to obtain enough blood, and she just wasn't giving it up! Although she was born that morning, she was surprisingly patient for most of it, but after a minute or two of constant ankle squeezing, she finally started to become upset, and so did I. I actually had to sit down because I was starting to feel squeamish, watching her poor little ankle go red and not bleed, forcing the nurses to prick and squeeze again. I couldn't watch. And that was just one "little" blood sample! I'd probably pass out if I had to watch my girls go through other, more complicated tests. They'd need to make sure the bed next door is empty before they started anything while I was around!

As a result of the work done by this charity, I am proud to be able to offer a class using this set, and hopefully make a small contribution to help those families who have to live with this kind of stress. It's sad that this kind of charity is even needed, but heartwarming to know that someone is doing something to help people in this kind of situation and that I can help!

If you live in this area, and would like to take this class next Tuesday, please e-mail and let me know! I still have a few places left and the cost of the class ($28) includes the set. (dstollery@yahoo.com)

My next post will show you the purse that these cards fit into (also part of the class).

Have a great day!

D

Rich Little Birdy

Here is another of my projects from Jenntopia, again with the Rich Razzleberry! (Have I mentioned yet today how much I love Rich Razzleberry?) I had the opportunity to use Jacqui's scallop oval punch, which I also love, love, love! I was playing around with colouring the rubber stamp with the blender pen and ink. It wasn't as dark as I'd hoped, but I like the general idea behind this card. I am supposed to have my own scallop oval punch in my hands tomorrow, so I am looking very forward to using it a lot more!

I still have a couple more things to show you from Jenntopia, so come back soon!

Have a great day!

Donna

Look Donna! The sun is coming up!

So last weekend, I was stamping with my best girls until all hours of the night-literally! Saturday night, I stayed up extra late with my girl Jenn who had come down from BC and was hosting us at her mom's house. Finally, at 5:30 or so, I decided to head to bed.

Jenn was still on BC time, so while it was 5:30 am for me, it only felt like 2:30am to her. Jenn and I were sharing a room, and as I tried to close my eyes and catch a few winks, it was very clear that she was in no mood for sleeping! She walked up to the window and pointed out that the sun was coming out and mentioned that she wanted to go take pictures of the sunrise. I said I was tired, and tried to go to sleep, but it seemed that my nocturnal friend Jenn was not going to let me sleep. She kept talking and giggling, and finally she got out of bed, walked to the window, and yanked up the blind to show me that the sun was coming and we really, really should go out and take pictures!

So, out we went, in our jammies, with cameras in hand, and we started snapping away. Of course the mosquitos were out, so we would take a picture or two, and smack at the mosquitos bothering us, then take another picture or two, then smack! In between the attacks, both Jenn and I did manage to capture some nice shots of the sunrise. Hopefully this is the last sunrise I stay up to see for a long, long time! LOL

Have a great day!

Razzleberry, razzleberry, oh how I love my razzleberry!

Last weekend was a blast! I had so much fun stamping with my girls! It was a great weekend, and as I had predicted, there were tears and laughs. And there was a lot of stamping! I don't remember the last time I had such a productive weekend!

This first card was one that I had made for the sole purpose of trying out the many thanks die from SU. I also got to use the Cottage Wall dsp, and, most importantly, my new favourite SU colour, Rich Razzleberry. I think every one of my projects from last weekend had this colour in it! LOL I'm hooked! The ribbon on this one was the polka dot razzleberry ribbon, but I flipped it for a more elegant, less busy, look.

So this is only my first project to show you. Tune in for more!

Have a great day!