Well, it happened.......

Yep, I am 30 today. The BIG 3-0! And I think I am going to be okay. So far so good this morning. It does help all the love I have gotten the past few days. So thank you to everyone for that;)

I am especially thankful to the hubs, who spoiled me rotten this birthday. It started with some beautiful gifts that he said were from the girls but I have a suspicion that he had something to do with it because as far as I know, they don't have jobs or transportation to get those things on their own;)

But the huge surprise came Saturday night. I was told he wanted to take me out for date night (which I love.) So here I was, ready to have a nice dinner with the hubs and as we walked out to the car Brandon hesitates and "tries to decide whether he wants to get his jacket or not" so as I wait for him to unlock the car to let me in (come on, your driving me crazy, just let me in the car already!!) up pulls this limo to take us to dinner......but wait! I opened the door to get in and there were 9 wonderful people waiting inside to surprise me!!!! I was a mess as you can imagine but so thrilled. I love my guy!! And it was a great day. Stay tuned for MDS of that!

Now for a few cards? I wanted to share with you a few adorable creations I received as well. This first one was made by my friend Chan. Isn't it adorable!?! Love the owl and the pumpkin. The inside of the card was decorated just as cute too. Thank you, Chan!

Cool, right? Check out that creepy writing. I love this set too. This is a Jenn L. creation. This is fun. She paired it with a pair of Halloween socks (so comfy) and some Vampire wine (so yummy.) Jenn was also one of those loving faces inside that limo Saturday night! Thanks Jenn!!

How cool is this?? I found this on my porch this morning! This card cracks me up! So adorable and clever. And do you see what she gave me. She made me some towels. Hand knit towels. How am I suppose to use your art to clean up with?? I am not sure I can do that! That was too cool. Thanks Nicole! What a surprise!

Thank you to all the ladies that helped me celebrate my birthday with SU orders as well. I hope you enjoy your SU goodies.

Now, go get in your costumes and remember to have a safe and happy Halloween!!

Advent Calendar Class

Join me for our next class:

Advent Calendar

Thursday, November 3rd

6:30 at Panera in Stockton

Cost of Class is $22. This price includes your 24 cup mini muffin pan, 5 sheets of colored cards stock, 2 pieces of white card stock, DSP and a small assortment of embellishments to use during class. The only additional supplies that you will need to complete your advent calendar is your adhesive to secure your mini scrapbook pages to your pan after you fill the cups.

Please RSVP so I can be sure to have your supplies ready for you.

See you soon!

Purse-onal Touch

This is our gift cad holder with a Purse-onal touch. Okay, cheesy, huh? Sorry. But it is cute, right? This one is courtesy of Dawn Stampin Thoughts. They are incredibly easy to make and as you can see, cute too. Could you picture these in all different patterns. I love this color combo: Melon Mambo and Pool Party. That just sounds like a fun combo, doesn't it?

The card opens like so. The gift card itself is held in with a small cello bag that was cut down to perfect size. Okay, that's it. Easy-peasy. Thanks for stopping by today. See you soon!

Birthday Gift Card

Last night was our Gift Cards Galore class. I kinda think gift cards get a bad rap. Personally, I love getting gift cards because I love to get out, go shopping and pick out something I love. But I know some people thing it is a little impersonal. So here we are, putting the personal touch back into the gift card. Nothing can do that like a hand stamped card, right?

This one was pretty simple. It is a quick birthday card made out of a 12X4 piece of card stock. The card slips into the middle section of the card. I also like the sentiment on the side, I think it goes nicely with a gift card. The sentiment reads," Spoil Yourself Today."

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

A Little Thank You

These little thank yous go to the group of ladies that just completed my first Marker Share. Thank you, ladies for participating and I hope that you love your complete set of markers.

I am ready to start round two and if you are interested in earning the complete set of markers, case, paper and a $25 shopping spree then let me know. This share is a great way to get a ton of product without paying for it all up front. I only need 4 ladies to complete the group and I already have one on the waiting list. Three more and we are ready to go! Let me know if you are interested. Or email me for more details: niki176@aol.com

Here is a close up shot of the card. I really love these colors together, Concord and Pool. Okay, lots to do today. Better get running. See you tomorrow................

MDS- Hannah's Birthday

Wow, two MDS pages this week? I'm on a roll, huh? This new Download is my favorite at the moment. Its called Cheerful Treat. Its not exactly new, but it's new to me. I recently purchased a bunch of new downloads to add the my MDS and I love it! Its so exciting and fun to pull in new stuff. One, it's really inexpensive the get a ton of stuff and two, you have it instantly. Way cool! Anyhoo, this Cheerful Treat Download comes with an assortment of DSP and embellishments. The colors are so pretty and very girlie, which is right up our alley.

So this was the page I made for Hannah's recent birthday party. I love these kiddos together!!

Okay, gotta run! We are off to the Pumpkin patch this morning:) See you tomorrow!!

Happy Birthday 2 U!

Today is one of my husbands best buddy's birthday. To tell you the truth this card stressed me out. I have zero "guy card mojo" at the moment. I wanted to do something cool but all my favorite guy stamp sets have retired. I better get some more. So what do I do for Andy? I made him this beer card last year and I was so happy with it. So this year I was thinking fishing, maybe? or golf? or maybe even Halloween. But I just couldn't make it work. So here is what we got. It's definitely masculine but no very fun. hummmmm.

Time to buy some more stamps! That always, helps right? Yep. Anyway, it gets the point across.

Happy Birthday, Andy! We hope you have a great day.

Happy Birthday, Kieran

Wow, I am really behind on my MDS at the moment. This page is from my nephews birthday.......in August. Eshh. Opps! I am also having issues at the moment with my computer and MDS cooperating with me. I am sure it isn't "user error." It couldn't be. No way. But issues none the less. I will get it worked out. But notice the writing on the page? Looks a bit wonky, huh (Hi Nicole;))? I don't know why. Driving me crazy. It really doesn't look like that in person or in MDS but for some reason blogger or my jpeg isn't liking it. I guess it's a case of the Mondays. sighhhhhhhh, this is no way to start the day.

Oh well, happy Monday. Thanks for stopping by.

November Events Calendar

Time to save the date for these important November Stampin Events

Thursday, November 3- 6:30PM at Panera: Advent Calendar
This one I am super excited about. I love advent calendars (they go hand in hand with our Elf on the Shelf. {side note: If you don't know what that is, you need to find out!!}) Your advent calendar will come with everything you need to create this fun project. Picture to come soon. Cost of class is $22.

Sunday, November 13th- Holiday Shopping Boutique
11:00am to 2:30pm. Stockton Golf and Country Club, 3800 West Country Club Blvd, Stockton, CA 95204.
Join us for a fabulous day of shopping without the holiday hassle! (The Stockton Golf and Country Club has a strict dress code.PLEASE NO DENIM, you will not be allowed in) Sips, Bites, and Shopping…What more could a woman want?Please join us for an event not to be missed!!! Take a few hours to enjoy a relaxing shopping experience free of crowds and lines. We will be featuring many exclusively sold designers that can not be bought in stores… Stella & Dot Jewelry and Handbags, Thirty-One Gifts and Accessories, NYR Organic Skin and Body Care, Scentsy Wickless Candles, Demarle at Home Cookware, Willowhouse Home Goods and of course, Stampin’ Up!

Friday, November 18th- 6:30PM at Panera: Stamp Camp Meeting
That's right our next Stamp Camp is in the works and my team and I will be gathering to plan the fun. If you are a downline and are planning to participate please RVSP. If you are a customer and planning to attend, hang tight and deets will be available shortly!!

Thursday, November 24th- No Class: Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's my birthday......

It's my birthday...........Well, not today, but soon. Very soon. Too soon. That's right in about 9 short days, I am going to be the BIG 3-0! Oh no!! I know, its terrible. If my typing had sound right now, you would hear me crying;( But no worries, you can help cheer me up. All I want for my birthday is a SU order. And here is the best part. You get to keep the goodies. I will happily send you a handmade Thank You card from me personally as well. Be sure to shop my online store between today and Halloween (that's the dreaded day) and it will help to lift my spirits and help me have a wonderful birthday. I don't even mind if you are a demonstrator;) Maybe you can get a few Digital Downloads you have been eyeing or a few clearance items that would make perfect hostess gifts. Its up to you and I will start working on that hand stamped card for you today........ click here to start shopping.

And don't forget about all those great October promos we have going on as well:

Buy Two Simply Sent Kits and Get the Stamp FREE

Cookie Press Stamps

Now back to the card. Its a beautiful card, right? Who sent it? Stampin Up sent it to me because they love me! They love all their demos and they show it. They even gave me a little gift inside. Love. There is love there.

Are you thinking about joining? Remember that BIG Recruiting promo also ends on my birthday. Do you want to REALLY make my day?? Join my team! That would be a treat for both of us. I would have a fabulous new team member and you would get a FREE Big Shot!!

So start shopping and if you decide that you want to give being a demo a shot, let's do it. Just click on the Join Now button found here and us the code: AvaSam.

Happy Shopping! and thank you!!!!!!

Join Us Next Week

Join us for next week's class:

Gift Card Galore!

Thursday, October 27th at 6:30PM, Panera

The season for gift cards is just around the corner. Come learn four fun ways to give a gift card that will put the "personal touch" into giving a gift card. Gift cards are great presents because it gives the recipient the choice to pick out what they like but does it seem a little thought-less? Not when you spend the time to give it to them in a cool, creative way. These four ideas are sure to put the WOW into your gift card. Cost of the class is only $8 for four creations. Hope you can join us!

Please RSVP so I can be sure to have your supplies ready for you!

CAS Halloween

This one its pretty simple. I needed a quick card that I could toss into a little Halloween care package I sent of to my cousin and her little guy,the other day. Yep, cant resist using my favorite set, Batty for you.

I embossed the base with the spider wed embossing folder and lightly sponged it. Then, I created a window for that cute little spider to peek through.

Okay, sorry for such a quickie post this morning but I am off and running. See you soon!

Guest Stamper-Jenn

Today, I wanted to share with you the adorable MDS invitation that Jenn made for Hannah's birthday party. Yep, this is MDS. Jenn didn't have the Strawberry DSP from our current catalog (sorry, the exact name is eluding my sleepy brain at the moment) and because she needed a lot of the same strawberry pattern, she bough the digital download instead. Pretty smart, right? She used the pattern as her base and typed the party info over the top. Oh, the fun stuff that MDS can do! Love it. Not to mention it helps whip out a bunch of cards in no time. Nice.

And to make it Strawberry Shortcake she added in a cute little graphic of her own. Ava and Sam loved this card. I had it pinned on my cork board and they were constantly asking me if the could hold it;)

Like the goodie bags? Strawberry shortcake of course, but a fun MDS Top Note bag topper too. Cute. Very cute, Jenn!

Fabric Pumpkins

Join me for this week's class:

Fabric Pumpkins

Thursday, October 20th 6:30PM

Cost of the class is only $6 and includes everything you need to make these two different style pumpkins.

If you wish to make more during class please do. The cost of the small pumpkin is $2 and the larger is $4. Once you know how easy these little cuties are to make you will want to make them in all different patterns and sizes. They are adorable piled up or thrown into a glass jar. I cant wait to see what you do with them to make them your own.

Please RSVP so I can be sure to have your supplies ready for you.

See you soon!

Pull Top Treat

You have seen these before. Pull Top Treats. They are cute and easy and so much fun. This one was a mini version made with a fun sized candy bar. Of course, I couldn't let Halloween go by without breaking out my all time favorite Halloween set too, Batty for You.

Here it is with the top pulled up a bit. See how small it is? Cute, huh? We also used the Spider Web Embossing Folder to give the base a little bit of texture.

And just look at this face! How can you not love this set. All the little characters and sayings in this set are adorable. But googly eyes just make everything better, huh?

Happy Monday!

For Hannah

Yesterday was the birthday of one our best little friends. Hannah turned five! I can't believe it, that means Ava is shortly behind her. They are little Big girls now, and it is so sad. Sniff. But it was nice to spend the day with our friends and help them celebrate.

This is the card I made for Hannah. I saw this little dress and thought it was so girlie and adorable. I had to give it a try. It is actually a case of two cards. Here and here. Check them out.

The ruffled dress bottom was a little tricky for me to get right but luckily both of the creators of the above cards were great and helped me out. It is just a scallop circle, cut to the middle of the circle between two of the scallops and then just accordion fold the scallops around.

"Five" is a big deal so I wanted it to stand out. Enter our fabulous Silver Glimmer paper. It was just to right amount of sparkle.

Stay tuned for our MDS page of the party and to see the really cool invites and goodie bags Hannah's mommy made with MDS............

Bunco Goodies

Last night was SU Bunco night. Now, so far in our little Bunco group I have not been the luckiest. In fact, our first night I was the biggest loser!! At least I won half my money back, right?? But last night, actually, I wasn't doing too bad. At the end of the game it came down to three of us with the most Buncos, I was one of them. Whoo Hoo. But then I lost it all in a roll off. What a bummer!! So close. Angie, robbed me;) So here I am feeling sorry for myself. The good part though, is that I still got some cute little goodies to bring home.

This first one was a real treat, literally. Bev made these. The cute little bags she made herself using the paper that comes in our orders. Nice, huh? A little free up-cycling. Who doesn't love that!?! And the lolli was really beautiful too.

This one was our make and take. I liked it because it was quick and it turned out cute. The cute little witch topper is attached to a cello bag with licorice.

Okay, gotta run. Big day today. I will tell you about it tomorrow.......

Stocking Punch Art

The new Stocking Punch in the current mini is adorable enough on it's own, but some people are just so darn creative and saw the pieces would make a perfect little horse as well. Brilliant! I love it because I have a little one that is crazy about horses.

Then, there are other who turned it into a Reindeer just in time for the Holidays, like Nicole did for her swap. Isn't this cute?

There, that's a better picture. How cute is he? Just add a Shimmery nose and some antlers and he is perfect. So sweet, Nicole. Thanks for this!

Top Note Box

I am a fan of all Top Note Boxes. They are easy and fun to make, and just like yesterday's post, I am a fan of any creation where you don't have to destroy the beautiful-ness to get to the temping candy. That is perfect torture for me too ( just in case you are wondering.) Just give me a super cute creation with chocolate inside. I will go CrAzY trying to figure out if I want to eat the candy or keep the creation. It's torture. Tor-ture!!

The box itself is very easy to make. Click here for a quick video tutorial. Then just embellish to your liking. We topped ours with a lolli. By the way, when making lollis, the glue gun is your best friend! But sticky strip is perfect for holding it secure once it has cooled.

See? No candy. It doesn't last around here. But candy corn or some wrapped nuggets would be perfect. In fact, Herseys nuggets (with Almonds) would be extra perfect.

Clearly, I am thinking about food, I better go eat something................;)

Giant Candy Matchbook

Back to our Tricks and Treats Class. This one was pretty fun. I came across this project a few weeks ago and now, for the life of me, I cant find it again. So if it was yours or you saw the original, please feel free to ink to it in the comments. These are super easy to make and are pretty large in size. Not sure if you can tell that or not. But this is just shy of standard card size (much bigger than an actual Matchbook, thus the name, Giant Matchbook.)

We used a Med Cello bag to hold the candy and my favorite part is when the flap is closed the cello bag is folded at the top, holding the candy in. But when opened the bag is ready for a little hand to reach in for a treat. The recipient doesn't actually have to destroy the creation to get to the candy. I like that!! In fact, it can be easily refiled too.

And check this out, I actually decorated with a button. Are you proud of me? You know I am a button hoarder, right? I am trying to work on that. And it does look really nice on the treat, I do have to admit.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon......

Jolly Christmas

Isn't this fun? I love this. This is another downline card swap. This one is from Sarah Camarillo. Its a gate fold card and man! that is a lot of coloring she did for us. It may not look like it here on this one card, but keep in mind she made a stack of these babies. Love it!

The Linen Thread and the Mini Jingle Bell is a really nice touch. This one came out great! Great job, Sarah! We all loved it!!

Wicked Shoes

I love the new Stocking Die, its so fun. But turning it into a wicked witch's boot is too cool. I have seen this done all over the place right now so this was my attempt at the version. We made this one at our recent Tricks and Treats class. These are so easy to make.

After we made our boot shape using the stocking die and the 3 1/2 circle die we ran the boot though the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I love the texture to the boot. It makes it really fun and girlie. Then, we added a few fancy Buckles to the boot using our Silver Glimmer Paper and the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch. Cute, huh?

We even gave our wicked boot some fancy socks using the Scallop Trim Border Punch. The boot was made into a pocket with the top of the boot open. That way we can slip in a yummy candy treat or a fun gift card. What a fun way to say Happy Halloween to someone, right??

To whoever came up with this idea, you are brilliant. Some people are so creative!!

Turkey Day

Look at this stunner! This is a Julie Strayrook creation. Gorgeous, huh? Just another super talented downline swap card. I love that she chose to do a Thanksgiving card. Love the colors, love the layout. Sorry I got so close on this top picture. I think if it was backed up just a bit it would show a bit better.

Julie didn't skimp on the embellishments either. Look at all that ribbon! And the brad is perfect. Great job, Julie. I love this card!

Emi's Swap

Good Morning Ladies. Before I show you today's fabulous card I have a little update for next weeks class: Next week's Stamp-A-Stack Class has been rescheduled to November 3. So, that means no class next week. Sorry. The hub has a work event and asked me to go with him so I am. Our next class will be Making Fabric Pumpkins on Thursday, October 20th. Hope you can join us.

Okay, on to the card. This is another card we received as part of our downline meeting swap. This card was created by Emi. You can check out more of Emi's creations by clicking here. I love this Bright Hopes stamp set and it is really beautiful embossed with the Pewter Embossing powder like this. But I think the real wow is that you tied on all those bells to our cards. That's a ton of work, I know, I did that on one card and it was driving me crazy, so this is awesome!

And the little Rhinestone bling is just the right touch. Beautiful card, Emi. It turned out great and it's very elegant!