Congratulation April D.

Congratulations to April D. She is the newest member of my team. I am so excited for you April! April actually took advantage of the re-join special that was only $35. This was a great deal. I met April through her mom actually. Her mom found me through my blog and placed an order through me. Then through talking Polly mentioned that her daughter used the be a demo too a few years ago. So, of course, I told Aprils mom about about this great re-join deal and there you have it. April gave me a call and we signed her up!! Please help me welcome her to our Stampin Family!

Now have you heard this?? This is too cute. If you are a Miley fan and love that song, "Party in the USA" and you like stampin then you will like this! This makes me giggle every time I watch it. Now this is a company that likes to have fun. Let just say they are dancing for you April!

Happy Birthday Carson!

Today is the first birthday party of a little friend of ours. Unfortunately we cant make it to the party because I am getting ready to hand the girls over to Grandma and Grandpa so I can get ready for a stampin meeting tonight. Sorry we wont be there Carson but I hope you have a wonderful day. We will make it up to you, I promise!

Here is the card I made to send to Carson. It was inspired by the cute invitation they sent. You can see a picture of the invitation below. The swirls on the card reminded me of the stamp in Elements of Style so that is what I used. I hope she likes it.

Remember

Just playing around with some of my supplies. This card wasn't made with anything in particular in mind just in a creative mood lately. I have a bunch of cards on hand that I cant show you right now. I am meeting with some of my favorite demos in the next couple day to start planning our next Stamp Camp. I love this event. If you haven't been to one then you don't want to miss this. Save the date: Sept 18th. I will post more info soon.

Now, I gotta run. Off to drop the kiddos at school and back to create some more!!

For the Bride

One of my friends is getting married. I am so excited! Her bridal shower is this weekend. I haven't had an opportunity to make wedding cards for a while now and there is nothing more fun than a wedding!!........except making cards. So, of course, making wedding card just makes me giddy! Hee Hee.

I wanted to use my friends wedding colors for her bridal shower card. Her colors are Tempting Turquoise and Real Red. Well, actually I think they are Turquoise and Red. But you know what I mean, right? This card was just too fun. It combined three of my catalog favorites: Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Word Play stamp set and the Rhinestones. Just check out the "Bling" on that ring!

New Hostess Promo!

Extra! Extra! Stampin' Up! hostesses get extra hostess awards July 27-August 31, in addition to the already fantastic hostess benefits!
From July 27 to August 31, Stampin' Up! hostesses can earn an EXTRA $25 to use toward Stampin' Up! products of their choice when they host a workshop totaling $350 or more!

This extra benefit is included along with the standard hostess benefits they receive when they host a workshop. The standard hostess benefits include

•A free 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog worth $9.95!
•Free stamp sets only available to hostesses (with qualifying orders; select from the products on pages 10-16 of the Idea Book & Catalog)!
•Free Stampin' Up! products of your choice!

Workshop total
(before tax and shipping) Free
Stampin' Up! merchandise Extra, Extra hostess awards Free Stampin' Up! merchandise with
Extra, Extra
hostess awards

$350 - $399 $40 + $25 $65
$400 - $449 $45 + $25 $70
$450 - $499 $50 + $25 $75
$500 - $549 $60 + $25 $85

This extra hostess benefit is only being offered for a limited time. Contact me to book your party right away! Click here to see Promo Flyer.

My Little BIG Girl!

Well, my Sammie is now a BIG girl. Here we are heading in for our first day of preschool. Yes, she was excited but as soon as we got out of the car to walk in she got scared. Talk about breaking your heart into a million pieces!! But I knew once I left she would have a great time. I told Sammie that Ava was there too just in another room. So, as I walked away and left both of my kiddos behind, I had to do everything I could think of to keep myself busy until it was time to go get them. But she did have a great time. She rode a bike, made new friends, and drew a picture for Harvey (Yeah, Harvey our cat! Where was mommy's picture!?!) So proud of my little BIG girls.

New Baby Boy!-and quick tip!

I am a lot behind the ball on this one. One of our close friends had a baby while we were gone to Vegas and I haven't gotten a card off to them yet. I know, I know, I am slapping my own hand on this one! But in all fairness I don't want to mail it, I am hoping to give it to them in person soon....real soon. Congrats Kenny and Heather on your new bundle of joy!

Here is a close up of the card. Lots of dimensional on this one. The layout is pretty simple so I had to jazz it up with some dimension;)

Ok, here is my quick tip, and if you already know this then it is just gonna make me feel even more silly that I didn't notice this before. This is one I learned on Stampin Connection the other day: Do you ever roll your markers around and around in your hand till you can find that picture to tell you which side of the pen to use (skinny or thick)?? Did you ever notice that white line around the pen close to the lids?? Yep, skinny and thick! Wow, how come I never saw that before!?!...........Now, am I the only one that didn't know that??

Because I Care

Here is a card that got away from me. This one was the Make and Take from the Launch Party a few weeks ago. I forgot to share it with you. This set was given to most of us demos for FREE. Thought it wasn't my favorite set, I saw some really beautiful cards made with it on Stampin Connection that caught my eye. So, for the Launch party, because a lot of the ladies were new to me, I decided flowers were fairly safe. They seemed to like it.

Sorry the color is so goofy on these pictures. I didn't notice it until I uploaded them. Anyway, thanks for stopping by have a great day!

Vegas-MDS

Here are the finished MDS pages of our recent trip to Vegas. So much fun. Vegas and MDS that is. If you still haven't tried My Digital Studio then you have to come try mine out. It is so fun and I am sure you have noticed that I am up to date on my scrapbooking. No page gets left out. I cant wait to get home and throw a few pages together after any event.

Now its your turn. Come try it out! I promise you will love it. The basic program comes with great template pages that are done for you or you can create your own in seconds. Be sure to check out the latest downloads that you can add to your MDS software too.

Click here to shop MDS software and downloads now.

Ick-Sick

Ick! Another one of those cards that are no fun to make. Being sick is no fun. But hopefully receiving a card in the mail will let them know I am thinking about them. Hopefully bring a smile to their face.

I love the new Word Play stamp set. There are so many great sayings in that set. And did you notice one of my other catalog favorites on this card too. Those rhinestones! Love them. So if the amount of love in a card is measured by its bling then there is a lot of love in this one;) Hope you feel better soon.

County Fair-MDS Page

Here are the fun pics from our trip to the Alameda County Fair. It was one of our mommy tips and we always have a blast with those. This trip we actually had the Grandmas with us, a dad and a few papas. It was a big group to keep together;) But as you can see it was fun. Look at Sammie screaming in the boat ride, scaring all the other kids. Their Nemo boat was being followed by Bruce the Shark!!! Ahhhhhh! She is so funny.

New Catalog Favorites

When I first saw our new catalog, the Just Believe stamp set was top on my list. It seems to be popular with everyone. I see lots of card example popping up with this set. This card was my first attempt to use it. I needed a thank you card for some of our friends that watched Harvey while we were gone to Vegas.

Another favorite on mine are the pearls. Now you can buy a sheet of self adhesive pearls and rhinestones. Perfect! I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw those. Love them!

Stamps: Just Believe

Paper: Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Dimensionals, Pearls, White Taffeta Ribbon, Daffodil Delight Ribbon

Retrofit Kits

Color Renovation Color Retrofit Kits

Retrofit your existing Stampin' Up! products with new color kits! Get all of Stampin' Up!'s new colors (and just the colors you need) without the expense of replacing products you already have.

Click here to see all the Retrofit Kits available

(July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011)

Ahh, Finally Home!

Ahh, I am finally home from our much needed vacation. Yes, Brandon and I decided to finally take a trip to Vegas. It was both of our first times there, ever! It was worth it. All the advise everyone gave us was helpful and the warnings about all the walking was much appreciated and boy, your not kidding there is a lot of walking!

We stayed at the Wynn (beautiful!) and on our second day we decided to take a taxi all the way up to Mandalay Bay. We told the bell hop that we would walk back and he chuckled and said, "No, your not gonna walk back";) Oh, did I mention it was 112 degrees!?! Well, what do you think? Do you think we made it??

Yes, we did! Not to mention we were checking out the inside of each casino on the way back and crossing back and forth to both sides of the street. Don't get me wrong, it took a long time. We stopped to eat dinner and to do a little gambling, but we made it.

It was a great trip. It was one of the best trips I have ever had with Brandon. He had me laughing so hard to whole trip! We came home with way too much shopping! Lots of great memories and yes, even a tattoo!...................Brandon, not me. But that is a really funny story too;)

Anyway, I have lots of pictures to throw into MDS but I need a day to rest. I will be back on track soon. I think I may need a vacation from my vacation!

Fore!

Our first outing as the Toll Four-some. Here is a quick MDS page of our first round of golf as a family. The girls have been begging us to let them play (boy, does that make daddy happy) and we figured they are old enough now to try. The hardest part was finding tiny left-handed clubs for my Sammie. But we found them. It was fun. We only played 6 holes and then had some dinner but the girls were begging to play some more. Perfect!!

Sam was easily distracted my nature. Ooooh, look a flower. ahhhh, sand. Look, a pine cone! You name it, it caught her attention. But Ava loved to hit the ball. And watch out cause she can really hit it.

Look out Sam and Charlie Woods! Here come Ava and Sam Toll;)............Wishful thinking, right!

How cute is Renee??

I have always been inspired by Renee's work. She is far more talented than I am. I love her out of the box thinking. If you have attended Stamp Camp then you have seen some of her awesome creations: Decor Element Frame, catalog bags, aprons and more. If you are a fellow demo then you should be sure to check out her work on Stampin Connection!

Look at those shoes! She used the sticky cuts and glitter. Now I know those sticky cuts are no longer available but sheets are available! So, as Renee suggests, just use the sheets and your favorite die and make your own. Add some glitter and there you have it! Did you notice the laces? Stampin Up Ribbon too!

Awwwww. Just adorable. I cant wait to try and make these myself.

Garage Sale Demo

At our Garage Sale last Friday I demonstrated a technique for adding texture to cards using punches and Dies. I hope all the ladies liked the demo. Unfortunately I wasn't the one to come up with this technique. So I wanted to give credit where credit is due.

The technique I showed on this card is the embossed stars in the background of the card base. Below you will see the technique that I demo-ed on a few scraps of paper.

Now click here to see the video of this technique in action. Also you can click here to see the card that inspired mine.

My Girls!

Yep, all my girls together. Aren't kids cute with animals? Ava and Sam were asking me to take pictures of them and our mini "Photo Shoot" broke out. It was cute. We love our puppy and it makes for a cute scrapbook page. I loved playing around with color on this page. I made the three photos on the right black and white to make the main photo pop at bit. Of course this page will go into the family album but once I save this as a Jpeg I can also make this page my desk top on my computer and send it to the grandparents as well.

Photo Wallet Class

Please join me for our August Class.

Photo Wallets

Cost of the class is $2 with a $10 minimum order

Thursday, August 12 @ 6:30

location:

Borders Book Store

Trinity Parkway

Stockton,CA

Please RSVP so I know you are coming. RSVPs came be made through my MEET-UP site or by email. DSP and card stock colors will vary. This class will only take about 20 min and you will leave with one photo wallet made and instructions to make more when you get home. Hope you can make it!

Happy 6th Anniversary

Happy 6th Anniversary to my hubby (and me.) I love you so much. And with as much Dr. Phil as I can muster.....If I wasn't married to you today, I would marry you today!! I love you more today than I did on the day we got married;)

But here is a funny little story to go with this card. While making this card Ava came into my stamp room. She said,"Who's birthday is it?" I told her it wasn't a birthday card that it was an Anniversary card. And she said, "Ohhhhhh, is he sad??" I think I laughed till my sides hurt. I told her, " Honey, I don't think you know what Anniversary means."................... Or maybe she does;) No, Anniversaries are a good thing. Just too funny.

As you can guess this card is a hybrid. I used MDS to create the image I wanted then I printed it and added it to an actual card stock. Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly Key Chains

Butterfly Keys chains. These are some of the projects I took to the garage sale with me on Friday. I had to do some counting when I got home to see how I did. I made a total of 22 butterfly key chains, but only came home with 8. So that was pretty good. The ladies seemed to like them and I was super excited to see some ladies leaving with a few of them in hand. These key chains where actually part of my Artisan Contest Entry this year. I didn't win (sniff, sniff) but I will try again next year. Thanks to all the ladies that took one of these home.

So, how did I make them? While at a craft show a few months ago I bought some thin acrylic sheets that were 4X4 in size. Then I ran them though the Big Shot with my Butterfly Die. Of course I also ran some pretty DSP prints though as well. Then I brushed the acrylic with a thin layer of Crystal Effects. Let them dry then punch a hole with your crop-a-dile in the corner. Add a key ring and there you go!

Did I Promise Lots of Goodies??

I promised lots of goodies, right? Well I hope I didn't disappoint. Because this is A LOT of goodies if I do say so myself. Here are some pictures from last night and to tell you the truth, I am not sure the pictures do the event justice. With 10 demos, there was just about everything you could imagine there for sale. The above table was some of our own creations for sale.

Stamp sets were broke into categories for faster searching. You should have seen these frugal shoppers with their shopping list ready to go! It was great.

Here are some of my favorite ladies, working hard getting ready for the crowds. Hi girls!

Tons of card stock, DSP and Simply Scrappin Kits. With the NEW color renovation we had lots of supplies for you to buy.

Embellishments, Decor Elements, Punches, Pens, Ribbons. You name it, it was there. I think I ever saw ladies leaving with multiple shopping bags full of supplies.

After all was said and done we sold a ton of supplies. It was a huge success. But believe it or not we still went home with lots of stuff left over. Were you not able to make it? Did you have items on your wish list still? Well I know all of us demos are all still wanting to sell more retired items so if you have a wish list email it to me and I will see what I can find for you. Happy continued shopping!!

Come See Me!

Tonight is the night! Please come and see me at our HUGE Garage Sale. This is an event you don't want to miss! Tons of retired SU! products sold at discount. Email me for location directions. The event is in Tracy,CA and starts at 6:30PM. In addition to SU! product we will also have other goodies there for you to purchase. Here is one little creation I am bringing. This coaster set was intended for something else but I am a total goof! Ask me about it tonight;)

Anyway, its for sale now. Along with lots of other projects, cards and other creations from me and my fellow demos. Looking forward to seeing you. If you have not picked up your new catalog yet I will be sure to have some of those on hand as well.

Remember, all Retired purchases are cash/check only but bring your credit card too in case you want to place any new orders as well. See you soon!!!!!