I've been absent from blogging for a week or so but only because I have had the pleasure of hosting several Stampin' Up! events.  The busy week wrapped up on Saturday with an awesome workshop at Pat's house.  Thank you to all of my friends/customers who helped make this past week so much fun.

In the meantime, do you notice anything different?  My creative friend and fellow Stampin' UP! demonstrator, Heather Prentice, has given The Joy of Stamping a new look...and I couldn't be happier.  A graphic artist and marketing professional, Heather made this process so easy.  If you have a blog or website and are looking for a new look or help with branding, Heather can help you!

Saleabration will soon be coming to an end.  Don't miss out on the opportunity to earn FREE product for every $50 you spend.  Hurry!  It all comes to an end on March 22nd!

I'll be back with new projects soon!

Thanks for visiting.

Various events and obligations kept me out of the stamp room this past week, but today I ended that terrible cycle!  My good friend and downline, Amber, came over today to share the stamp room with me and to get our creative juices flowing. 

We had good intentions and grand ideas - complete swaps, work on our display boards, talk a bit of "shop", etc.  Well, let's just say we didn't quite get through everything, but the truth is, it was SO good to spend 4.5 hours with Amber today.  And, we DID stamp!

Here's a picture of Amber in action:

And here's a picture of the two of us working on the vintage card we created:

 
And, finally, guess what?  My beautiful daughter, Rachel, all of a sudden wanted in on the party too.  Rachel doesn't exactly share my passion for papercrafts, but every once in awhile she likes to make something quick for her friends.  Today she created a birthday card for one of her friends from college.  It was nice to see you get your hands "inky" Rachel!

 I have a busy few weeks coming up as I am preparing for my monthly stamp camps, three swaps and a Stampin' Up! Workshop at my house next Saturday.  If you are in the Central Florida area and are interested in attending the workshop, please contact me so I can share the details.  The new catalog is filled with exciting new products and I would love to introduce them to you.

Off to finish creating!

No, I'm not going anywhere, but the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog is.  Today is the last day to purchase products from that catalog.  All retiring stamps and accessories are available only through the end of the day. For a complete list of last chance items, please refer to the links on the right side bar. Click here to visit my on-line store.

While I'm sad to see some of my favorite things go I am excited about the new products in the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog...and you will be too! Just a bit of housekeeping before I show you today's project.  My online store and demonstrator website will be down for maintenance on July 1st from 7am to noon (MT).  This will allow all the new catalog information to be updated.  The store will be back in business 2PM (EST)!  I will also be updating my blog with new information over the weekend too, to include access to the catalog on-line.  And finally, if you want need a new catalog, please let me know.  I will make arrangements with locals for a pick-up.  If you are not in the Central FL area, I ask you pay the $4.95 priority shipping cost (US residents only).

Ok, on to today's project.  This is a continuation from my previous post - all about pretty packaging. 

I already had my sewing machine out and I had some "fun" fabric laying out so I grabbed my Island Floral die (#118871) and Big Shot machine (#113439) and cut out this flower and petals.  I really like this fabric and the bright, bold colors are eye-catching.

The flower is adhered to the box with mini glue dots and the box itself is another Big Shot die called Box #2 (#114518).  In order to match the blue color on the fabric, I  used some retired card stock (do you remember Brilliant Blue??).  The corduroy brad is also retired but available in the Clearance Rack section of my online store.  (There are some GREAT bargins in the Clearance Rack section - you need to check them out!).  And to tie things up, I used 5/8" Real Red grosgrain ribbon - which, by the way, is also retiring as of today. To add that final, personal touch, I added two sentiments from the Tiny Tags stamp set (#118592) and punched them out using the Jewelry tag punch (#117190) and wrapped them around the brad using white Baker's Twine (#124262).  To make this projects from beginning to end took less 20 minutes including the flower!

I encourage you to break out alternative materials and try them with your Big Shot.  You won't be disappointed.  Wait...what?  You don't have a Big Shot?? Luckily, I can help you with that too!

Thank you for visiting.  See you next time with a brand new catalog!!

I didn't expect my blogging sabbatical to last 7 months - weeks maybe, but not months.  It has been so long I actually forgot my blog sign-in and password!  With that cleared up, I am happy to be posting again.  While my intention is to post on a regular basis, I've noticed that as soon as I commit to it, life derails me and I once again look like a blogging idiot. So, just shy of committing, let's just say I hope to post more often than every 7 months.

In late August I received an invitation to return to a retirement community to teach rubber stamping.  I say "return" because I taught there for nearly 4 years until 2008.  I returned to many of the same ladies that were in my class previously and a few new faces too.  It was a great class and a great day!  It rejuvenated me in unexpected ways and I now find myself excited about stamping and teaching again.  That feeling has been a void in my life for a long time.  So without further ado, here is a "class photo" of my first camp in nearly two years!  A big thanks to these ladies and their community for having me back!

There...I did it.  My first post in ages.  Check back later today so I can show you the cool Halloween project I just finished!

It's been so long since I've posted and even longer since I've stamped I feel like I have forgotten how.  When I mentioned my trepidation about blogging again to my friend she said, "Don't worry about it!  It's just like riding a bike.  Once you get on again, it all comes back to you."  So here's to hoping that blogging is like riding a bike...

I'll admit that my absence from stamping has surprised me a bit.  I can't recall a time in the past 6 years that I've gone this long without touching stamps and ink.  This wasn't an intentional hiatus, but it gave me time to reflect on how much time I had previously spent in my craft room either stamping or blogging.  It was an enormous amount of time!  While I shouldn't complain, it made me realize pretty quickly that when I was stamping/blogging/surfing, I was missing the opportunity to spend time with my family, my parents, and my friends. And guess what?  I've realized over the past couple of weeks that I actually like my kids!   Who knew??  While I have no intention of giving up stamping or blogging, I have vowed to spend less time surfing and making the most of the time that I am in my craft room.  Let's just call it "re-prioritizing".

I still have a few outstanding family issues to take care of over the next couple of weeks which will limit my stamping time, but I do have a couple of projects that just need to be loaded and edited.  These were done some time ago but are still "blog worthy".  I should have one of them up tomorrow.

Some of you are aware that I have been interviewing for a new job. It's been a long process, but I remain hopeful. I was told today that I am still one of the final candidates but that they do not expect to have a final decision until the first week of June.  So, the wait continues.  The bright side to all of this is that I get to spend the next two weeks with my folks who are moving North on June 2nd.  I do not look forward to June 2nd. I miss them already.

Thank you to all of you who have inquired about me via email over the past couple of weeks.  Your friendship means more to me than you know.  I'm happy to be blogging again and look forward to reconnecting with everyone again soon.

I hope you'll stop by again tomorrow.

Mary Ann