UdderlyAwesome Stamping From The Heart

Joshua, Jeremy, and Jaelyn and Broadway Hits!

Last Friday I took Joshua and Jeremy to Amy's Playground, which is an indoor playground in S Pasadena.  It is a safe and protected place that was a lot of fun!  (I left the umbrella stroller at Shelly's!!!!) If you don't know why that is significant, check out my blog post for January 28th.

Joshua was very independent, of course, but Jeremy had not been before so it was fun getting him acquainted with the different fun things to do!  Here are just a few of what he enjoyed!

Here is big brother, Joshua, back at home holding Jaelyn.

Jaelyn is 2 1/2 weeks old now.  The humorous note to the picture on the left is that once joshua was finished holding Jaelyn for the picture, he was ready to jump down and go play.  So he just let go of her and she went rolling off to the side of the couch!  I was able to catch her before she hit the floor!

I am a very blessed grandmother!!!

And on a personal note, I have had so much fun the last two weekends.  Last Friday, a good friend called up to say that there was a ticket to Riverdance at the Pantages Theater available last minute if I was free that night.  Whoo hooooooooooo!!!  So I went with two couples and had a GREAT TIME!

Then, another friends' mother was suppose to be here to see Mary Poppins with them 29th.  But the mother didn't come.  Would I like to go?  I even got a picture at this one. Dave and I moved into our home here in Duarte in 1978, so close to Hollywood, but we just never went to see the Broadway shows!  (except for Wicked!!!)

Okay.  It's back to work!:)

Thank you for stopping by!

What can you make with fabric, a hot glue gun, and the Big Shot?

Fabric Flower Pins!!!

I just made my first fabric flower pin several days ago!  Oh my word!

They are so much fun to make and very easy, too.

These flowers have been spotted for sale from $16-$40 depending on where you look!

What great gifts!  You choose 4 coordinating fabrics and you are off and running!

The back even looks professional.

We'll be making these in my next Big Shot class.

I am looking at Monday, March 8th  for the class.  I'll confirm it in my next newsletter.

We will be using #115970, the Flower Folds Bigz Die.

You may already have some beautiful fabrics at home that you can use to make these amazing gifts!

Stay tuned! 

Thank you for stopping by!

p.s.  My hand is only slightly sore from it's little trauma yesterday! Whew!!

Three Year Old Grandson Recuses Grandmother from a Big OUCH!!!!

Yes, the grandmother would be me!

And the grandson would be my three year old grandson, Joshua!

I have to take a break from stamping to tell you about the UMBRELLA STROLLER SAGA!

I was very excited to spend time with our daughter and my three grandchildren today.

Because it was such a beautiful day, I asked Shelly if I could take the boys for a walk.

Jaelyn, who is two weeks old, would stay home with Shelly.

Shelly gave me instructions to go down to the underground parking, get the stroller out of the back of the van, click, the parking button so that the gate would go up etc. 

Piece of cake-RIGHT?!

So, Joshua, 3 years old, Jeremy 18 months, and I  went down to the underground parking, and I proceeded to get out the stroller. Now, I haven't opened up an umbrella stroller in quite awhile, but I was sure that it wouldn't be a problem.

After searching around just a bit, I realized that the bars between the two back wheels were the ones that had to be pushed down to steady the stroller.

I COULD have used my foot to push the bars down, right?

However, it seemed more natural to simply reach down and push down the bars with my left hand.

As I snapped the bars into place, I QUICKLY realized that the skin between my thumb and my pointer finger was also securely locked into place--BETWEEN THE BARS! 

And yes, it was quite obvious that it would take TWO HANDS to pull the bars apart!

Did I mention that my hand was really hurting?!

Now I am walking around in the underground parking, wincing in pain, carrying around the stroller, realizing that I needed help quickly!!

So, I sent Joshua running up the stairs to get Shelly!

Alas and alack!  She was already in the shower and couldn't hear Joshua! 

So when he came back down to tell me that she wasn't answering, I decided to try to  call her!

BUT, would she hear the phone in the shower!

Sure enough, Shelly had taken her cell phone into shower with her just in case I would call while I was out.  What a WISE DAUGHTER I have!

Shelly heard the phone and decided that she had better answer it just in case it was me!

(Oh, thank you, Lord!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!!!)

Did I mention that my hand was REALLY HURTING!!!

WOULD I EVER STAMP AGAIN??!! :):):)

Have you ever tried to pull clothes on quickly when you are wet?

Shelly decided that it would probably be better to somehow get her clothes on than to wrap a towel around herself to come rescue me! LOL!!(She could hear my pain and wanted to hurry !)

As she arrived on the scene and rescued my hand from the jaws of the  umbrella stroller,

I wondered what in the world my skin would look like after having been scrunched and munched by the stroller!!! 

Shelly released the bars.

There was no blood!  Okay!  That was a good sign!

As my skin began to relax and unfold, (Literally), the pain went away almost immediately!

Oh my word!  This is amazing, I was thinking!!!

I was almost totally unscathed by the entire incident!

I loaded up Jeremy into the stroller (that SHELLY SECURED!) and we took off for a fun walk and a great time!

Want to see my hand tonight?

You're going to think that I made this story up because the damage doesn't look that bad!

It will probably be black and blue tomorrow, but I did get off with very minor damage considering what COULD have happened!

BOTTOM LINE!!! My grandson, Joshua, is a true HERO!!

He did exactly what I told him to do without panicking!

I LOVE YOU, JOSHUA!!!!

I hope that you had a good laugh!

I certainly did---AFTER THE FACT!!!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Happy Moments with Sweet Pea Paper and Diagonal Cutting!

The Happy Moments images have a lot of versatility!

Someone issued a challenge several weeks back so I designed these two simple cards.  They are a great way to show off the new Scallop Trim Punches!

 I used  Linen Thread going through the  1/16" punch to hang the bird cage on the branch and then  a little So Saffron with the blender pen to soften up the bird cage.

Start with a 2 7/8" square for the Scallop Corner and Border Punches.

 The branch is from the new Extra Large Bird punch in the Occasions Mini. 

Then I decided to use the flower in the same format. I used the large oval punch to create the vase and simply cut off each end of the oval. This white card stock was 3 1/4"x 2 7/8" and it worked well with the new scallop corner and border punches.   

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Each stamp club will be making one of these designs.

Click here for details about my Stamp Clubs.

Let me know if you would like to visit and see if it is a fit for you.

We meet the first Tuesday or the first Wednesday of each month.

Thank you for stopping by!

New little twist with the Polka Dot Embossing Folder

We know what the Polka Dots look like if you place the entire piece of card stock

into the Impressions Folder. 

But what happens if you place the card stock into the Impressions Folder from the side so that the entire card front is not covered by the polka dots?

You get "polka dot relief"!

 

 

If you look at the top and the bottom of the card at the top, you will see that there is space that is not "polka-dotted". Now when you look again at the way I placed the card stock into the impressions folder, you'll see how I did it.  The top half of the card is in the folder.  You see the back of the card on top of the folder.

It is easy to do and it rescues the completed card from being "over polka-dotted".

I originally did put the entire card front through the folder and there definitely too many polka dots--for this card anyway, for my taste anyway!

(I did polka dot the wing and mount it with a dimensional, but it doesn't show up in the picture.)

If you want to try going the way around the square with the scallop trim corner and border punches, start with a 2 3/8" square to end up with the same size that I used for this particular card.

Start with the four corners and then go back and use the scallop border on each side.

PRACTICE!!:) You will be able to do it before you know it!

Please e-mail me if you have any questions about it!

Thank you for stopping by!

Extra Large Fancy FLower creates a lot of interest!

Is this new punch fun to work with or what!

We will be making this card in my February Stamp Clubs.

This card is 4 1/4"x 5 1/2" in case it looks a little "squatty".

I'm getting a new camera at the end of the month!

 

The flower is three layers.

The#118073 Extra Large Fancy Flower is page 11, Occasions Mini, $15.95

Layer one:  Real Red card stock

Layer two: Whisper White card stock

Layer three:  Sending Love Designer Series Papers

The center for the back flower is a 3/4" circle punch of the Sending Love paper.

The center for the front flower is #117170 Sending Love Epoxy Brads, Occasions Mini  $4.95

On the inside I put a little 1/2" strip of Real Red along the bottom inside of the card so that the beautiful border created by the #116402 Scallop Trim Border Punch, which is FREE during Sale-a-bration when your order has at least a $50 subtotal!

The background is the new and very popular#117335 Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder, page 35, Occasions Mini, for $7.95

Please e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to visit one of my Stamp Clubs.

Click here for details.

Thank you for stopping by.

Love Bandit Gift Cards and Candy

What an awesome gift this will make!

Last fall I saw this very cute box that Becky Roberts had made for Christmas and thought that I would like to make it for Valentines.  Then when the Love Bandit stamps came out, Jill Hillard inspired me to make these cards.  There are four 3 x 3 cards and envelopes on each side of the candy.

  There are two each of Real Red, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo.

Have you ever used the Round Tab Punch to make a circle?

Start with a 3" square and push the punch all the way in.

 

Now turn the card stock 90 degrees in either direction.  Push the punch all the way in and punch again.

You may have to practice a time or two to get it lined up perfectly.

The circle is almost 2" so the scallop circle piece shows through nicely.

Punches:  The Round Tab Punch, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" and the 1 1/4" Circle Punches.

When I saw this box originally, it had Christmas tags in it.  So it is versatile.

Hint:  If you have trouble getting it lined up perfectly, take a circle that is perfect.  After you make the first punch, simply trace the circle so that you can see exactly where to punch.  Then hold on to your perfect circle so that you can use it every time.  You may have a really good eye and not need to do this.

Please mail e-mail me if I can help you in any way!

I would teach a class on this before Valentines, but there just isn't tiime!

Thank you for stopping by!

 Download Nugget Box-Becky Roberts

Scalloped Heart of Hearts finishes off this Valentine Treat Box with Bling!

Wouldn't you love to receive a Valentine treat in this box?!!!

The measurements for this box are at the bottom of the post.

The new Scalloped Heart of Heart Embosslit really pops!

Here is how I got the two layers of hearts.

I made the Real Red scalloped heart first.   Then I stamped the greeting on white card stock and punched it out with the Full Heart Punch.  Put the punched out white heart into the Scalloped Embosslit!  Viola!! You have two layers of hearts!!

I couldn't find a place for the bow.  It looked funny tied around the handle. So I put two bows back to back! You can't see the red strip that is in the center on top of the white handle.  It's really pretty.

Instead of retyping the instructions, I am inserting a link to the identical blue snowflake box that I made last Christmas.  You can get the dimensions and score lines there.

Supplies:

#117332 Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die page15 Occasions Mini $11.95

#113693 Full Heart Punch page 187 $15.95

Papers:  Real Red, Whisper White card stocks (pages 155-156) #117153 Sending Love Designer Series Paper page 13 Occasions Mini $11.95

#117286 Real Red 5/8" Satin Ribbon page27 Occasions Mini $8.95 (approx 15 yds)

Set:  #117072 (Wood) Well Scripted page 19 Occasions Mini #118601 Clear Mount-same set $14.95

#104336 Silver Brads page 179 200 for $6.95

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Click on the SHOP NOW button on my blog if you want to order the supplies for this project.

Thank you for stopping by!

Ideas from Leadership Training in Phoenix

While I am waiting to once again get an Adobe Photoshop challenge figured out, I will share some trades that I received from Leadership Training that already have a watermark on them.

Wanda Clasen gave me this wonderful roommate gift!

The paper is #117153 Sending Love in the Occasions mini.

She also used #117332 Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die and #118073 the Extra Large Bird Punch and the #117649 Pinking Hearts Border: all out of the new Occasions Mini.

 

This very nice trade was made by Kelly Acheson from WI.

She has used #117688 Something Sweet from the Occasions Mini

the new #117335 Polka Dot Impressions Folder, and #117193 Small Heart Punch

She used the Polka Dot Punch on ALL of the little hearts!

 

Yvonne Metz's stairstep card for MOM is beautiful!

#117016 Messages for Mom is again from the Occasions Mini

 

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Thank you for stopping by!

Extra Large Two Step Bird makes an effective but simple card

Aren't you just loving the new punches!

I am not that much of a bird person, but I really love our new two step bird punch!

We'll be making this card in my February Stamp Clubs, Tuesday the 2nd, and Wednesday the 3rd.

Feel free to visit and see if you are irresistibly drawn to join us:)

We really do have a lot of fun:)

I punched the bird three times:  once in the Old Olive to get the branch, once in the Real Red to get the bird, and once in the Sending Love Designer Paper to get the wing. I love the bling and glitz in that paper!

The Whisper White card stock is folded on the left side and you can put just the front half into the new Perfect Polka Dot Impressions Folder. The back half will fold around underneath the folder.

The Real Red square is 3".  The white piece that is scalloped starts out at 2 7/8". Be precise in your cutting.

Now for the new punches.  I love them!  YOU DO HAVE TO PRACTICE WITH THEM especially if you want to go around the entire piece of card stock.  I have decided that the way to be most successful with the corners is to hold the punch upside down so that you can see where the card stock is lining up.

Do not let the edges of the card stock get into punch.  Once the card stock is in the punch, you want it BESIDE the punch's edges, not caught under the edges. Why don't you go get your punch if you have it already and try to follow this step by step.  If you catch the edges of the card stock up in the punch, you will not get a clean corner.  I am confident that you will make that mistake at least once (:) while you are practicing.  Then you will see what I mean.

Punch the four corners first so that your white card stock looks like the piece below.

 

Now you are ready to punch the sides.  The long scallop trim punch will overlap some of the scallops that you have already punched.  Once you learn how to line it up,  you will be fine. Can you see that the metal punch scallops on the left and the right are directly over the already punched scallops in the card stock?  You will think that it will never work, but it will.

If you are not a patient person, I would suggest that you design your cards with corners only or straight edges only.  Going all the way around the card takes practice and takes starting with the right size of card stock.  It doesn't seem like just any size will work.

I'm still learning, but I am beginning to have fun with them.

Supplies:

#117335 Polka Dots Impressions Folder, page 35 Occasions Mini $7.95

#117191 Extra large Two-Step Bird Punch page 11 Occasions Mini $15.95

#118870 Scallop Trim Corner page 11 Occasions mini $15.95

#118402 Scallop Trim Border Punch Sale-a-bration Catalog only (FREE with a $50 order from any current catalog)

#117072(Wood) Well Scripted stamp set page 19 Occasions Mini $19.95  #118601(Clear Mount) $14.95 

Card stocks:  Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White,

#117153 Sending Love Specialty papers Occasions mini page 13 $11.95 (bird wing)

Ink:  Real Red Classic Pad page 156

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

I may be only one tiny step ahead of you on these punches:)!!

Thank you for stopping by!