I received 2 blog awards.. Now how cool is that! Thanks Debbi!

Look :) Another proof that I am not the only reader of my blog (smile) These 2 awards for my blog brought such a smile on my face this afternoon. I just came home after helping my daughter (who is now 4 years old/young) to learn how to bike. Seriously my back is hurting me. I needed some computer time (smile) to rest. My hubby understands, he is now with the kiddo's.

Debbi Designs awarded me with these 2 awards. How fun is that. I feel so hip! She wrote: 'Great Cards and photography! Something I need to work on. ;)' Thank you Debbi.. That is so sweet of you. I love making photo's. It is like one of those hobbies I have on the side. Still lots to learn about it, but I love to use it on this blog and challenge myself in learning more.
Be sure to hop over to her blog and tell her how much you agree with her about my beautiful and trendy blog. :)
You will not regret it.. From what I understand when I read her blog is that she must be such a great person and Stampin Up demonstrator. Her customers are blessed with her. And I love her creativity. She has an eye for things. I love what you and your hubby did to your craft corner. How organized! Thanks again Debbi. I will pay it forward. I just need some time to scoop through my many favorite blogs. That will be no problem!

One I already know! (smile). It is Molly's blog! You can find her at this link. It is http://mollyslazydogblog.blogspot.com/. she has great tutorials and the most elegant and simple cards. She truly inspires me. You've been awarded Molly with these 2 Awards. Enjoy!

Only 6 more weeks to order from the Stampin up Mini Summer Catalog 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More stamping

Wedding card by Stampin up

Next week my dear friend Chloe is getting married in Winnipeg. So sad we can't be there for the wedding. 18 hour drive.. oh my.. But I am thankful to know that so many of her loved will be there to celebrate it with her and her new hubby!

This morning I made her and her hubby to be this card. I wish I could show it to you all personally. I think I spend more time trying to make good pictures of it, than that I spend on making the actual card. Now, how hard is it to take some photo's? I would look at the picture in my camera and back to the card thinking.. Is this the same card? The colors were off, things started to look bigger and smaller where it had to be the opposite, etc.. I used many of the same colors in different layers on this card & I think that was the tricky part. But still.. I wanted to do justice to this card. Finally I gave up.. This is what it is..
Anyway.. I am so thrilled with this card. I didn't case it.. It just all came together.. Do you see those 2 little birds cuddling together? So so cute!I am totally tickled with the result!

I used the Baja Breeze and the Marina Mist + the Whisper White card stock. I added 3 white halfback pearls of the Pretties kit to it in the left top corner. For the ribbon I used the Organza Ribbon, to give it that delicacy touch. The Designer Series Paper is from the Greenhouse Gala + I punched out twice the little bird with Stampin up's Bird punch. And that little heart that you see between the 2 lovebirds is done with the Heart to heart punch. I inked up the 'Congratulations' image with the Baja Breeze ink and stamped it on the Whisper white card stock. I punched out the image with the Modern Label punch from Stampin up.

I would love to hear what you think. And if you have any ideas about how I could progress in making better pictures. Please throw me a line. I would love to hear your suggestions on how you do it for your blog.

Enjoy the rest of your day Stampers!

Stampin up: Friends never fade + Daffodil Delight card stock

Marina Mist... Love that name. I wonder who these people are that come up with those name-ideas for there Stampin' Up products. They sure do a great job.

I wanted to 'play' with the New Daffodil Delight color today. It was fun mixing it with the new Marina Mist color. I am not sure what to think of the layout of this card yet. Next time I will add two more layers I think.. This looks a bit to simple.. I was surprised how the Summer Sun corduroy buttons matched so well with the Daffodil Delight yellow color of the card. These 2 colors are very similar.
I used again the 'Friends never fade' stamp set from Stampin up. It is in the new catalogue that just came out. This set has 4 super sweet and elegant images. You will understand when you see the flower stamp I used today! Isn't it stunning. What a gorgeous image. And it is true: 'Friends are flowers that never fade'. I love my friends. They mean so much to me.

Here's an idea.. Send some of your friends a card to today and let them know how much you appreciate them. I will do the same!

Friends never fade by Stampin up + a touch of Marina mist

Howdy dear Stampers. The Calgary Stampede is coming closer and closer. Love that time of year here in Calgary, Alberta. People start looking like cowboys and cowgirls. My kids are so excited by it all. Of course the Stampede breakfasts are a big hit with them. Pancakes, fruit and fun each morning in different places of the city. Not that we go each morning.. just the thought of it is fun.

I don't even know where to start in telling you how I just adore this new Stamp set that Stampin up just released together with the Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper. Just stunning. This stamp set is called: 'Friends never fade'. It is truly my ultimate favorite. I will for sure use it to send a little note to many of my dear friends. This set I can use when I am in a 'retro mood' or in an 'elegant mood'.
It has both. Love it!!!!

I used here the new color 'Marina Mist' from Stampin up + Old Olive and Baja Breeze + Whisper White. To the little sentiment I added 2 pumpkin pie colored eyelets. They make it pop for sure. Love how that worked out. I used the SU border punch.. They add a bit of feminine style to it.

a bit of chuckling today about myself and my Stampin up hobby!

Isn't this a beautiful photo of our little girl Rachel. IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). She loves animals. I just adore her. This time no picture of a card I made. But you got to check this out!
Today I came across something that was seriously amusing and I thought, I will share it with you. It's from a hubby of a Stampers wife. Well we all know what that means right?

Things I’ve Learned as a Stamper's Spouse.
By Jon Van Bruggen

My wife is a stamper. By stamper, I mean a paper-crafting, blog-hopping, creativity-oozing stamper. She’s not a crafter and she’s definitely not a scrapbooker. She’s a stamper.

Perhaps you’re also an involuntary member of this unique and growing collection of people I like to simply call Spouses of Stampers… or SSs.

By having been an SS for the past few years I’ve learned a thing or two about the stamping sub-culture. And even though I’m armed with this knowledge, the various quirks and expectations of stampers are still hard to manage at times. Perhaps you’re an SS and you think you’re the only one experiencing these things. Know that you’re not alone! We’re in this together! And so, for all of the SSs out there, I submit to you the top 10 things I’ve learned as an SS:

#10 – Delete “scrapbooker” from your vocabulary and then empty your recycle bin. Remember...she's a stamper!

#9 - The outside of a greeting card is one hundred times more meaningful to a recipient than the words written on the inside. Or at least the outside of the card takes one hundred times longer to complete.

#8 - Organza and Grosgrain have nothing to do with anything organic or wheat-based. They’re ribbons.

#7 - When your wife says “I just want to change one thing about this card,” you better cancel your dinner reservations because you’re not going anywhere for a very long time.

#6 - What looks like the aftermath of a tornado is really just a uniquely organized stamp room.

#5 – Never, ever, ever say “Don’t you already have paper like that?” Trust me. It’s not the same paper.

#4 - Redeeming the weekly 40% off coupon at Michaels trumps having milk in the refrigerator and clean socks to wear. Seriously, are your personal health and hygiene that important? I didn’t think so.

#3 - The primary purpose of making cards is not to send them to others. It's to create space for that new die-cut machine.

#2 - Much like the sun, you can’t turn off your wife’s creativity. As an SS, just give in already and prepare for many more dinner conversations about the latest blog-hop or stamp-a-thon.


MOST IMPORTANT ONE NEXT!

#1 - Memorize this: “Wow honey! That’s really cute!!!” It’s pure gold if you can muster the enthusiasm to go with it. Use it as often as you can, especially when you’re in a jam. You won’t be disappointed.

Teacup and Pansies by Stampin up 1995

Wow, I can't believe I used 7 different layers in this card. It was like making a puzzle. I love clean lines and balance. I think it worked pretty well with the nostalgic detailed picture of this teacup. If I would add any more details to this card it would only distract from it's beauty.. This way it worked out pretty well.

It used the now retired 'Barely Banana' card stock from Stampin up + the Kiwi Kiss and the Baja Breeze. They are so soft colors and give such a nice English feel to this card. I punched out 2 oval shapes with 2 of my SU punches + I used the 'Old Olive' 'Summer Sun' and 'Lovely Lilac' from my SU markers to color some details in this dainty cup. Not to much. Yes I tried.. but it looked terrible.

This card reminds me of Danielle Humble. My dear friend from Winnipeg. She was also my amazing Doula with our last baby girl Naomi, who is now just over a year old/young. I miss Danielle. She collects english tea cups. We would drink like little ladies our tea out of those cups. So fun. Love you, Danielle! Wish we could have tea again and stamp together!

Pedaling Past, Soft Suede by Stampin up

Hi Stampers. Happy Canada DAY! I am back again with 2 of my favorite colors. The Soft Suede card stock and the Baja Breeze card stock from Stampin up. This time I joined them with a piece of the Kraft color desigener series paper from Stampin up. I love the elegance of it all. I could honestly decorate my house in these colors! They are so calming and homey!

I used again 'the Pedaling Past' stampset from Stampin up (#120069 / $19.95 + tax and shipping) Only available for two more months in the Summer mini catalogue.

To add some dimension and texture to this card I added 2 Kraft color corduroy buttons in the right corner. It's the first thing that catches my eye when I look at this card. I punched out 3 different shapes with 3 different Stampin up punches. I used the Designer Label Punch (#119862), The Modern Label Punch (#119849) and the Word Window Punch (#119857) As you can see they work so well together.
To bring it all together I used some Grosgrain ribbon in the color of Baja Breeze.