Stepping up to a challenge

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I signed up for a “Wow” swap.  I should have known better.  A swap like that causes me to pull out all of the stops.  I drive myself crazy coming up with an idea, and then spend hours putting it together because in my wisdom I decided to cut out a zillion little pieces.  Of course, once I finish I think of dozens of additional little touches I should have added:

Double Pocket swap

I actually did most of the construction for this swap at Boy Scout camp last week.  My son’s troop needed some extra adult supervision during the day, and since they didn’t need me to do anything but be there in case of an emergency, I was pretty free.  I spread out my project on one of the big picnic tables at their campsite and cut, scored, stamped, trimmed and punched the day away.  The boys would come and go between activities and check out my progress.  Some of them were curious and a couple seemed entertained by this mom working away in their camp.  The site was so beautiful – and peaceful as long as they were away – that I really enjoyed myself.

Here’s another look at the card:

Double Pocket Swap opened

There’s a tutorial for this card at Splitcoast Stampers under Resources – look for the Diagonal Double Pocket card.

This takes the cake

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7/24/10   ETA:  The artist is Elizabeth Price from San Jose, CA.  Well done, Elizabeth!

It’s late here in Salt Lake and although I’ve had a fabulous time I need some sleep,  I’ve downloaded some of the photos from my point-and-shoot.  They won’t win any Fabulous Photographer prizes but they’re better than the phone pix.  The lighting in the Convention Center isn’t exactly flattering.

I’m only sharing one now, but it knocked my socks off.  This cake is made entirely from paper.  I am horrified to say that every photo I took of it cut off the name of the incredibly talented woman who made it, and I will go back tomorrow to get the information to share with you.  In the meantime, feast your eyes:

An incredible paper confection

Just a couple more

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A few more Artisan boards…

A Little More Amazingness

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I had a chance to see some of the Artisan Award winners work today and sharing the photos with your understanding that I’m using a camera phone to facilitate the upload. What that means is that the quality is, well, camera phone quality, ok?

I thought you might forgive me.

Jewel bird

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I love these deep, rich colors – Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo – colors to dream in.  This last swap was the most fun just because the largest Simply Adorned charm holds a 1 1/2″ x 2″ insert so there’s more room to work.  I love all the new floral stamps we have in the 2010-2011 Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog, and I’m especially fond of that hummingbird.  It made me really happy to bring them all together in one creation:

Large Simply Adorned Charm

This is the style I really enjoy.  I’m not sure what to call it, but I like all of the layers and the jewel tones.  It almost became a contest with myself to see how many different stamp sets I could incorporate!  If you really want to know what I used, leave a comment.  I’ll do my best to update these after I get home, but it could be a little while.

Amazing Inspiration

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Don’t know how but I think I just deleted my last convention post. If you saw something different a while ago you’re not crazy!

We are having a great time. The day is full of fun, learning and inspiration. There are so many things to tell but I have just a couple of minutes to share some of the incredible product sample boards. I’ll try to add more later. No fancy formatting just the pix, ok?

Sparkling Simply Adorned

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These inserts are for the 1″ x 1 1/4″ Simply Adorned charms.   I designed these straight from a card I found in the catalog and cased here on this blog.   They should really have rhinestone gems on each of the flowers, but I used up most of the small ones on another swap and had to stretch out the ones I had!  I can’t wait to see the swaps I get in return for these – that’s really the fun of participating.  (And here you thought I loved pulling out my hair until all hours of the night finishing these things.)

Sweet Stem Simply Adorned

The flowers are punched with our new Bitty Punches and sprayed with Smooch Spritz – and I challenge you to say that five times as quickly as you can!  You get a beautiful shine on something small with the Spritz.  I’m pretty sure it’s not intended for skin, but it’s awfully tempting.  (I’m sure that statement should be accompanied by all sorts of legal caveats and “DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME” kinds of statements.  So don’t try it, ok??)

This was our time

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We went to a 70’s party tonite at convention. We didn’t have the best costume but we were pretty fine. There were a lot of far out women having a groovy time and we were right there. The music was awesome. We knew every song, and yes, we sang along.

Check out this attitude:

One Square Inch

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I can start to show you some swaps now, because I’ve started swappin’ them.  Oh yeah, I love the auto-post feature!  Not a lot of info here, just some fun stuff to see.  I’ll have more details for you next week (that is, if I don’t end up being selected for the Jury Pool.  That would be a fine welcome home from convention!)

1" x 1" Simply Adorned Insert

These are inserts for the 1″ x 1″ Simply Adorned charms.  They are so much fun – since they’re small, you can spend a little more time coloring stamps and cutting things out.   I love that kind of detail and it’s easy to do in such a tiny format.  The butterfly image is meant to be worn on the back side of the charm but you could wear them either way.  I just love that goofy owl!

A Really Big Deal

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I have been cranking in the stamp room the past week or two.  I had a new catalog Open House last weekend, two classes this week, and a sack full of swaps to get ready for the Stampin’ Up! convention this week in Salt Lake City.  Imagine throngs of stampers, mostly women but accompanied by a few brave men, sharing inspiration, laughter, and swaps – for four days!  I leave tonight on the red-eye and I am pumped up.  Packed?  Well, no, not yet…

Kellie's fabulous card


Isn’t this fabulous??  My dear friend Kellie made it for me.  Since I’m not packed, you’ll have to forgive me but the list of supplies will have to be an addendum later on.