Wow, what a fun week!  I spent the later part of last week in Ohio visiting with my parents and two of my brothers.  I always love seeing my family and cherish the times we are together since our visits are seldom due to distance.  I was so happy to see everyone in good health and good spirits.  It did my heart good.

I had to come home on Friday night because my daughter's Homecoming dance was on Saturday.  Saturday quickly became a day of nails, up-dos, make-up and giddy-ness.  Unfortunately, I didn't capture the various events of the day on camera, but I did get Rachel in all her glory just before she left for the dance. She looked beautiful!  Rachel loved her dress and was so happy because it wasn't black like everyone else's dress.  I agree..

In addition to Homecoming, our other exciting news is that my niece, Laura, is now a proud, new member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority at her college in Michigan.  She was SO excited when her sorority sisters came to her door on Friday night to tell her she had been chosen.  Tonight is her pinning ceremony and no doubt a night she will remember for a long time.  I did a little research on the sorority and found out that AST's colors are green and yellow and their flower is the yellow rose.  I wanted to send a Laura a card to let her know how happy I was for her and this is what I came up with.  It's been a great few days.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mary Ann

In my attempt to make things feel like Fall around here, I broke open the stamp set Thoroughly Thankful and my new designer series paper Juntos ( Juntos can only be found in the Spanish supplement).   The colors in this paper are beautiful!  The rich, earthly tones make it perfect for a Fall card.  The card stock used was Really Rust, Handsome Hunter and Very Vanilla.

The layout for this card came as a result of a blog I recently stumbled upon.  Her name is Chat and her cards are unbelievable.  This is the card layout I cased.

I'm scheduling this card to post while I'm away for a few days.  I'm hoping it posts when it's suppose to!  I'll be back online again this weekend.

Thanks for dropping by!

Mary Ann  

I was beginning to wonder if I would ever stamp again - ever.  I have had the flu that just would not go away. I actually got it for the first time TWO WEEKS AGO and then graciously passed it on to my husband who then gave it back to me.  I finally went to the doctor yesterday who essentially told me my husband and I should stay away from each other for a few days!  Coincidently, I am leaving tomorrow to spend a few days in Ohio with some of my family, so I'm hoping between leaving the state and temporarily leaving my husband, this family flu bug can leave once and for all.

This card uses the set Eastern Blooms.  In this case it's only one Bloom, but it's still a bloom nonetheless!  I had some self-adhesive rhinestones that I added to the center for a little bling.  In addition, I found some thin metal rolls that I must have purchased 4+ years ago.  I ran a piece through my cuttlebug with the swirls template and it came out really well!  It's much prettier in person. I followed a sketch layout from Julee's blog, even though I'm over a week late!  Oh well.  I should be back on track with the sketches when I'm back from my trip. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Ann

Every once in awhile I come across a card or template that totally makes me laugh out loud.  Today's card is one of them.  I have a dear friend that is going through some tough times and a card offering some "support" is perfect!  I found the template on SCS. 

I used Stampin' Up! Bali Breeze designer paper (retired) for the bra and added some rhinestones, a small flower from the Pretties Kit and some lace I found in the clearance bin at JoAnn's.  The straps are made with Stampin' Up!'s white taffeta ribbon.

I hope this makes her smile.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

For the past 4+ years I have had monthly stamp camps with essentially the same 10-12 women.  You would think after all this time that at least one of them would let me take a picture of them looking at the camera.  Not a chance.  So, the few photos that I do have show a few of them busy at work trying not to acknowledge me at all.  One of these days I'll get them when they least expect it!

This is Pat and Kris.  They're working on the "two for tea" tea bag holder.

Here is Cathy, Sue and Betty decorating their box-in-a-bag.

I think I mentioned the other day that in addition to camp, I was trying to sell some retired stamps and accessories.  Here is my table with over 130+ sets and other items for sale. 

And finally, here is a picture (above) of the "tea for two" tea bag holder we made which features the new large oval punch Stampin' Up! is offering in the Fall/Winter Idea book and catalog.

Thank for stopping by and sharing some of your time with me!

Mary Ann

It pains me to write this.  

About a week ago,  things went terribly wrong with my computer.  Long story short, my brilliant and computer-savvy son did everything he could to help me and "fix" my computer, but I inevitably lost data, programs and things I'm sure I don't even know about yet.  To make matters worse, I lost the ability to pull pictures from my camera card thus making blogging a bit difficult.  My son left for school on Saturday and won't be back until Thanksgiving.  So, until I figure out what the problem is and how to fix it, I am blogging from a different computer and in the process of moving programs and pictures over so I can at least get back online.  This is requiring patience I simply don't have. 

So, until I can get access to my other pictures, I want to show you a card we did at my Stamp Camp today.  I have other pictures of the rest of the day as well but will have to post those tomorrow when I download them to this computer.  I was lucky to get this one photo on here! I had 8 women at my house today and we had a lot of fun.  I also had a Stampin' Up! garage sale as I continue to unload retired stamps and accessories.  I had over 130 sets for sale and while the women did buy some, I have MANY sets left.  I will probably post them on here in the near future.

This card uses the new Stampin' Up! stamp set Upsy Daisy.  I did a technique that was shown at convention by using daubers to apply color to the stamp.  We used the new In Colors of Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red - So pretty!  We also added a bit of bling by adding some Dazzling Diamond glitter.  Also used on this card is the grass stamp from the set Inspired by Nature (love that set).  Because this was a long card, I needed something to fill the space and I didn't want to add designer paper.  I think this worked well.  To finish it off, we used Tangerine Tango striped grosgrain ribbon.

It was another milestone in the Stampin' Up! world today.  As of this afternoon, you can now buy Stampin' Up! products directly online via a demonstrator website.  This is awesome news so now all of my fabulous customers can shop in the middle of the night!  My SU website address is: http://thejoyofstamping.stampinup.net .  There is a "shop now" button in the top right corner.  Click it and shop away!

It's good to be back online.  Thank you for your patience!

I took a little break from card making today and attempted a few 3-D items that have been on my "must try list".  I came across a tutorial for this cute little gift bag on Nancy Morgan's blog.  Her instructions are excellent and very easy to understand.  This bag was made from 2 6x6 pieces of Maine Blueberry designer paper and accented with jumbo eyelets, old olive 5/8" ribbon, Very Vanilla and Not Quite Navy card stock and multiple punches.  This is a small bag and measures 3.5" wide and 4.5" tall, but there are measurements for a larger bag too.  This is perfect for a small gift or even a gift card.

Gotta make today's post short.  My son leaves for college on Saturday and we have a little more shopping to do.  I'll be back tomorrow with another 3-D item.  See you then!

Mary Ann

Happy Labor Day!

It's been kind of a lazy day around here.  The kids slept in late and my husband and I spent time this morning enjoying not one, but two cups of coffee together and deciding what to do for the day.  It has been the perfect day to play with a few more new stamps and accessories and to take a peak at some of my favorite blogs. 

Another one of my new sets is Pocket Silhouettes (I'm finally spelling 'silhouettes' correctly).  This set is SO pretty.  I coupled this set with some new designer paper called Manchester and Kraft and Very Vanilla card stock.  I used Basic Brownink to stamp the flowers and the sentiment.  While I wish I had the steady hand to make perfect placement of the "thanks so much", I don't, so I had to use my Stamp-a-ma-jig instead.  This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest crafting tools ever invented.  I use mine A LOT.

The card measure 4.25 x 4.25.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Ann