Sweet scoops, just without the ice cream by Stampin Up

Hi there, thanks for stopping by. Now.. can you believe it! It is already the last Saturday in July! This month seemed to fly by like.. I don't know.. like.. crazy!?

This card uses the new sweet Scoops stampset from the Summer Mini Catalog 2010. (Only available for 1 more month.) I also used the Stampin' up's exclusive Square Lattice embossing folder with the Big Shot on the new Daffodil Delight card stock. I love the texture this embossing folder gives to my projects. I also used some Only Orange and the Take with teal card stock from Stampin Up.

One of the ice cream cones is missing the yummy ice cream.. I hope my friend gets it when she receives this card :) I miss her, just like the cone is missing it's ice cream.... I hope it is not to silly..

All that to say, enjoy the rest of your day! (it rhymes :)

Hydrangea: 'Because I care' by Stampin Up and me :)

Hi dear Stampers, it is so Saturday.. wow did this Sunny week ever fly by quickly. We have seen the swimming pool, the parks, the backyard, the trampoline and many other kid friendly places. Loved it. My kids had a blast and when that happens.. so does the mom. (me)

As soon as I saw this stampset in the new Stampin Up catalog it reminded me of Holland. I actually got a bit homesick.. :) I know.. still after 9 years I feel homesick!

Holland is known for it's tulips.. YES indeed.. But did you know that so many people in the Netherlands plant these Hydrangea's (Hortensias) in their yards. Go for a bike ride and you will see the many different types. The Mophead Hydrangeas is my favorite. It can grow huge. I have seen some that are taller than me. Seriously!. Their big flowers which have some of the deepest and richest colors, love the shade, the rain and some sun. And that is Holland for!

I actually have a question.

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Are there any Calgarians who have these Hydrangea's in their yard. Do they last year after year?.. Or are the winters here to cold for these plants. I would love to find out.. That would be a dream to have a huge huge Hortensia plant/bush in front of our house. I would love to hear from you and find out which Hydrangea would be the best to plant here in Alberta!

Making this birthday card for my grandma in the Netherlands, was such a treat. I loved working on the details. I just wish I could capture them better in my photo's, but this was the best I could do..

Enjoy the rest of your day and I would love to hear from you again soon.

A retro Christmas by Stampin Up

And a welcome back to the Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper by Stampin Up.. there are so many patterns.. I am amazed by how it inspires me to create.. Love it.

I used one of the images of the retired stamp set 'Christmas Punch' that was a hostes gift last year, on this card. A bit of jolly and a bit of retro makes a real funky Christmas card.. I love trying out new ways of sending a Christmas thought to my dear friends... And yes.. you can never start to early.. I gotta snap out of it though and enjoy the summer, instead of thinking of Christmas.. Only 2 more days... I know.. I will not repeat myself again :)

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Bird Punch from Stampin Up.. Can you see the differences?

Hi dear Stampers, thanks again for joining me!
If you have followed me for the last month through this blog, then you must recognize this card. I made one like this in blue. Please click on this link if you missed it for more details on this card.

Last night I got a phone call from my sweet hubbies mom. She needed a wedding card and asked me if I could make her one like it, but then in green.. celery green.. After the kids were put to bed, I dove in my craft corner & I changed it up a bit.

It sure makes a difference. The birds are way more visible now I used the Whisper white card stock for them. I love the result. As you can see, I also decorated an envelope in the same theme. I hope Carolyn will like it as well. It will be so good to see her again. She has been missed. The kids are counting the days for her to sleep in our basement again and to read them stories.
Maybe me and my hubby can have a date night while she is in town.. Yip we need that one.. :)

Scandinavian Season by Stampin up for Christmas

I just adore this Scandinavian Season stamp set from Stampin Up. It was for sale in their mini catalog in 2008. The higlight of this card is the Scandinavian seasonal tree inked up in the SU Real red ink and stamped on some Whisper White card stock. I matted the panel on Basic grey and again real red card stock. A 4.25 x 5.5 base card of Stampin Up Basic Grey was used as the base of it all. I used a wide strip of the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper from Stampin Up on the left side as a rich final.

I love how the line images of this stamp set leave such a crisp impression. In the left corner you see that I used the Curly Label Punch made by Stampin up to punch out a real red shape. I glued on this punched out shape, part of an image from the Cute and Curly stamp set. I love the part where it says 'dear friend'.

I know it is Summer and not Christmas yet.. but Christmas cards have been on my mind lately.. I am just playing with some of the retired Christmas stamp sets and dreaming at the same time about what I can do with the newer ones that I am able to order in about 1 week.

Oh how fun!

Thanks for stopping by again dear friends! I love to hear from you!

Trendy Trees in Early Espresso by Stampin Up

Hi dear Stampers. Thanks for checking in again and welcome back. I always love to hear from you.

If you would be able to take a peek at my craft table than you could see that I could make probable 30 more of these kind of cards. So many pieces of Beautiful Stampin Up Designer Series Papers.. I just can't throw them in my garbage bin. Do you have that same problem? I always think.. well.. what if next time I need a piece like that.. Anyway.. Today I decided to bring an end to this pile..Well, 'end'.. a start to the 'end' I guess :)

I used a 12x12 Chocolate Chip piece of card stock. I cut it in half and folded that half into half. (There is probable a better way to describe this last part) Then I punched out a total of 12 squares with my Stampin Up square punch.. And in less than a minute I had 12 fun Certainly Celery squares to glue on my card. On top of them I added different images from the DSP. Can you recognise them? I used some Chocolate Chip Gross grain Ribbon and 3 of the cutest buttons. And there you have it.. One of the fastest cards I have made in the last little while. I hope it motivates you to look at your pieces of scrap in a different way.. And after that.. Your craft table will probable look just as chaotic as mine..

So glad my Blog looks so organised and clean.. Don't think that this blog reflects my 'normal life' in my home with our 3 kiddo's. Well in the morning and evening after my clean up time.. But in the middle it looks.. well, it looks used and well lived in! And I am kinda proud of it! :)

Trendy Trees by Stampin up with some Real Red accents

Courage doesn't always roar.. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: "I will try again tomorrow".

Isn't this true! I posted this saying on my facebook page.. I had many of my friends responding to this 'thought'. It was good to chat with them and to listen and to think with them about this topic and have them listen to me. Yes I have those days as well. We all have our days that things don't seem to move as fast as we want them to move. Where we don't know what to feel or how to put our feelings into thoughts.. But to have hope and grace with ourselves that things in us can change. I love that about life.. but I need people around me that are not afraid to challenge me or to ask me questions. I am blessed with friends who will do that. And I feel honored that they invite me as well to speak into their lifes.. to listen and to care.

This card I made for my friend today.. I haven't used the Real Red card stock lately that much.. But I think I need to start using it more often. It gives my cards that fresh look. The base of the card is Soft Suede. On top of that I used Certainly Celery, next layer is Real Red and on top of that Very Vanilla. The three little tabs I made with the always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon. I also used one of the Trendy Trees tree images in the middle of this card. The Real red button and eyelet brought the color red a bit more to the surface.

Thanks again for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Happiness by Vincent van Gogh

'Happiness... It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort...' Vincent van Gogh.

Oh I wish I could have met this man when he was still alive. He must have been one of the most compassionate people alive. So misunderstood by many. He had a deep faith in God and wanted to do justice to the poor. He was longing for grace in his life and in that of others. He lived in the Netherlands. I also lived for 28 years in the Netherlands. Loved it. I went so many times to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Amazing.. all his art. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Most of them he did in the last 2 years of his life. I love his art.

Me and my hubby used `the Starry night` he painted, as the image on our wedding invitation. And we paired it up with a Psalm out of the Bible.

It is Psalm 8:3:

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

So true.. we live in this huge huge world, in this huge huge universe.. and God is interested in every detail of our lives. I also love details, but I am terrible in remembering them.. but when I do think of them, they usually make me smile. Well depending on the detail I guess :)

Now this is a fun detail.. I had a dear friend work in Amsterdam in an addiction rehab center in De Jordaan and I stayed over there sometimes.. He lived in a huge old building. It was the same building Van Gogh had lived in around 1880. The same room that Van Gogh had lived in, I would sleep in.. it was one of the guest rooms in this huge building. A very simple place witha boring view of more houses and a street.. but I usually could never really sleep if I was in there.. I would stare at the ceiling thinking.. `What would Vincent have thought when he was here about 150 years ago..` This man inspired me my whole life. His art, his letters he wrote to his brother, his faith in God and his struggle with so many things in life.. Yip.. I wish I could talk to him and listen to his stories. Now I look at his paintings and they do most of the talking and I just listen..

And here I am.. I love creating cards.. This one I made with Abundant Hope from Stampin Up. They are usually not that deep or profound... but I do want them to send a message of love.. of care... and yes, I feel that joy of creative effort. Thanks Vincent van Gogh.. for putting so many of my feelings into words.. I need that sometimes..

Stampin up's Fifth Avenue Birthday Card

Hi Stampers. Thanks for visiting my blog. I honestly find it an honour that you all are coming back to take a peek at what I've created. I love sharing my passion with you all and I hope I inspire you.

My dear aunt Jannie, who lives in the Netherlands, is soon going to have her birthday. This aunt is more like a sister to me than anything else. about 2 years ago she came to visit us in Calgary. She is so much fun and so easy going. What a joy to have her around. She loved spending time with Reuben and Rachel. Reading stories, doing crafts and having the pasion and patience to listen to their stories. I am so sad we can't visit her on on this special day. I hope that when she receives this card I made for her, that she knows that she is loved!

So here is the deets on this card. I used the Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango + Very Vanilla card stock from Stampin Up. I inked up the gorgeous flower images from the 'Fifth Avenue' stamp set in Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point. These colors work so well together. I love how the layering brings that little extra dimension to this card.

Deer Friends by Stampin up with some Pretties

Hi Stampers.. A Christmas card in the Summer... I know, I know.. what was I thinking. It is so not Christmas yet.. and believe me.. I am not ready for the snow and the cold at all to come.
In about 2 weeks Stampin Up demonstrators are able to pre-order from the Holliday Mini Catalog 2010. (If you are not a demo you need to wait an extra month.. that month will pass too:) I just got so excited this morning.. There are so so many great new products coming out.. I can't wait to show it to you..

I used the Soft Sky card stock from Stampin Up together with the Old Olive, real Red and Early Espresso. These are some of my favorite Christmas colors to use in my cards.

I used for the first time my Vintage Wallpaper Sizzix embossing die from Stampin Up. So gorgeous. It just ads that little extra texture that I needed for this card. I used one of the images of the 'Deer Friends' stamp set. This was one of the Hostess sets a couple of years ago. I punched the image out with a SU circle punch and added a scallop circle punch piece underneath it. Love it!

Do you see those 3 half pearls? Those are from the Pretties kit that Stampin Up sells as well. I love a little bling in a card. Together with the Organza Ribbon this card got a whole different feel. So classy and elegant. Just what I needed.

Greenhouse Gala with a touch of Old Olive

5 Minutes.. That's all it took to create this card. How fun for a mom with 3 kids.. (me) That's what Designer Series Paper can do for you. (me) Here I used the Green House Gala Designer Series Paper from Stampin Up. Are you getting tired of me and that paper. So sorry about that one.. Please hang in there with me.. I just have to get it out of my system I guess.

I heard that at the Stampin Up convention this year that is going on at this moment !!! they are selling Labtob bags and totes with this gorgeous Greenhouse Gala design.. It is almost heart breaking. I am so not there. If anyone who is there at the yearly Stampin Up Convention and well.. trust me enough to buy one for me.. and is willing to send it to me.. I will for sure pay you for the bags and the shipping. I would love to hear from you.. if that one is you.. You would make me so so so happy.. Seriously! 1000 thanks and hugs in advance!

And for anyone that is there at the Convention. Enjoy, enjoy. You all deserve it. Maybe next year I am able to come as well and join in the fun. Anyone in Calgary, Alberta, Canada already thinking of going next year? Maybe we can all carpool :)

Abundant Hope by Stampin up

Hi dear Stampers. Welcome to another day.

I love how simple cards can be just as powerful at times, then cards I spend way more time on.. Here is one like that. It speaks peace. And I think Peace is such a powerful .. well.. I guess 'thing'. I am not sure yet what sentiment I will ad to this card. I will leave it open.. Sometimes I have those days that I just need a card.. but from all the choices I have of cards.. It just doesn't have the right sentiment.. this way.. the only thing I need to do is finish it of with the right saying. I know.. what a bright idea..

I used the Basic Gray and Daffodil Delight + Whisper White Card stock from Stampin Up. What a great choice! Love it! I inked the 'Abundant Hope stamp in the Soft Suede ink pad, which turned out really nice. I decided not to color the image. And I don't regret it. (smile) I also used a little strip of the Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper. Doesn't it all complement each other. This color combo is sure a keeper for me!

The Lattice die together with my Big Shot helper from Stampin up

I can't believe how easy this card came together today. That Big Shot is really a keeper. I guess I just have to use it more often.. I can't imagine having to cut these details out myself. My son who is now 6 years old, was so impressed when he saw this card. I told him quickly I had a big helper today and I pointed out my Stampin Up Big Shot.. he just looked at it, not knowing what to think of it. Honestly the world of a child is so full of surprises.. it just made my day to explain this machine to him. He got so excited about it.

To add some elegance to this card I used some Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper on the left. A bit of Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon on the bottom gives it that extra touch. Don't you think? I also used 2 different size Oval punches from Stampin up to ad a bit of dimension to card with the sentiment. For the cardstock I used the Tangerine Tango and the Soft Suede from Stampin Up.

Once more Trendy Trees by Stampin up

I changed the colors and the sentiment on this card up a bit. For the rest this is the same recipe for this card I made and wrote about earlier. Enjoy.

Trendy Trees by Stampin up with Kiwi Kiss card stock

Hi Stampers, welcome back to my blog. You like the tunes that I added? Those are some of my favorite songs that you hear. I love them. When I am making my cards I click on my blog link and I have a whole hour of music without any talk.. welcome if you want to do the same. It is pretty relaxing. Or feel free to click on the mute button if you don't want to hear any songs. What is your favorite song at the moment? I would love to hear from you.

Do you remember these cute trees? Wow is it ever hard to line these up. I kept trying, but had no luck.. So I decided to just punch them out.. Now nobody will find out (smile)

I used the Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Marina Mist and Early Espresso cardstock from Stampin up. It was the first time I used the Early Espresso. What a stunning color. It makes the other colors pop so nicely! I inked the Trendy Trees stamps into the Marina Mist ink and the Early Epresso inkpad.

I used 6 different Stampin up punches. The Scallop trim border punch (#118402) + the 1-3/4 Scallop Circle punch (#119854) + the Modern Label Punch (#119849) + the Word Window punch (119857) + the 1-1/4 Circle punch (#119861) + the 1-3/8 circle punch (#119860).

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Love Bandit birthday card by Stampin up for Ellie.

What can I say.. I love this little critter. This one I made for my dear friend Ellie in Holland. I have known her for close to 20 years I think. She is one amazing friend of mine. She visited me in Canada probably about 4 times. so sad, I can't even keep track of that number.

Ellie has that sense of humor that can show you who you really are and still laugh about it. I think that's a talent. And the funny thing is, she has the biggest memory on the whole planet. If I need a certain detail about something in my life.. She is the one to call. I don't know how she does it, but it sure comes in handy.. and the funny thing is.. she knows I forget important 'things' so between her nose and lips (dutch saying) she will mention it to me.. with a twinkling in her eye.. and nobody will see it except for me.. and in moments like that I am like.. Oh thank God for Ellie.. that was a close one.. Yip she is a keeper.

I hope she reads this and knows that she is so LOVED! ( Oh.. This would be the funniest thing.. if this wasn't the card I made for her, but the other one with the 'Love Bandit' stampset.. because to be honest.. I don't really remember that detail.. sigh) Love you Ellie.. Don't be to hard on me. I miss you!