An experiment gone good!!

Okay, I know it's been forever since I've been on here. Sorry, but life gets in the way. Working full time again is kicking my hinnie. Plus keeping up with everything else. This month I've been to Champaign twice and Rachael's been up here once and is coming again next weekend. This the first free weekend all month. I have stamped or done stamp related activities, like shop. We started Christmas cards one weekend, stamped on a Friday night another, and then last Saturday went to a convention in St. Charles, IL. and spent a ton of money!

So some of that money bought this stamp set. I found a new company, at least to me, only in business a year. They're in Memphis, Tennesse and do internet orders. They have whole sheets, which are great and only $12 each. Of course I spent tons of my convention money just at this one booth and even went back a second time and bought 3 more plates. The first time was like 6-7! This company is called Artistic Outpost. http://www.artisticoutpost.com/

So that brings me to my card. I finally got time today to sit down and play for an hour and this is what I came up with. I'm not 100% crazy about the background, but love the Serenity part. It's just done on cheapo paper. Using another convention purchase, Ranger's blending foam and handle, you take your distress ink pads and smoosh some on a teflon sheet, then using the blending tool, I used Mustard Seed, you blend the ink onto the paper. I took another piece of paper and made a torn edge. Then changing foam used Marmalade Distress Ink and holding the torn edge add the Marmalade, moving the torn piece to give it some layers. Then I stamped the image in black permanent ink. Then changing blending foam again, used some vintage photo distress ink and just added a bit of color around the edges. Mounted that on black glossy after it dried. The yellowish background I used the flower from the set and first off stamped onto scratch paper then randomly stamped the flower using SU going gray. Then I used SU creamy caramel to stamp the verse, and more mustard to add just another hint of color with the swirly stamp from the set. Mounted on an orange paper (from Hobby Lobby) and then onto black. I don't know where the brads came from but they matched sort of so they went on too.

I stopped at one of these deciding to not press my luck today. I felt lucky to get into my room for even an hour. We decided to put up Halloween decorations today and what I thought was going to be a couple hour project ended up being over 5. I managed to make it through without killing or even yelling at my husband though!

Next weekend is a stampscape class at the Peddler's Den in Somanauk, so hopefully I'll finally learn how to do those and can post some success stories there.

I'm going to a stamp club!!

I got a phone message today about joinging a stamp club at the LSS. I had been on a waiting list since June! Anyway, I signed up. It's once per month and cost $5, but they provide dinner. A new technique is taught and then you make 8 cards for the next month's swap. Sounds pretty simple to me! I had to commit to 4 months worth, so I'm good to go until after the December meeting. Then I can decide if I want to continue going or not. I'm excited about it. Hopefully it'll be fun.





I also found another great find at the GoodWill store yesterday. I got a cabinet to keep my paper in for $20. I'm not sure what the original use was, but it's looking good holding my paper. I just love that store!! I was able to get rid of an old dented up filing cabinet that really couldn't handle the load of paper in it. It was a cheap thing from about 10 years ago. So it was past time to retire it.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get some chances to stamp in the next few days. Ed and Steven are suppose to make a trip to Kansas to check on the house and relist with another agent so I'll have two nights alone!! Surely I can get into the stamp room then. I don't think the cat will want my undivided attention.

Halloween card

I haven't had much time for stamping, what with work starting up. I wish I could find someone to let me stay home and stamp all day and pay me for it! Barb have you ever gotten that "kept woman" thing figured out?

Anyway this is a card I made a couple weeks ago when my friend, Rachael, and I stamped up here. It doesn't have any stamping on it. I actually copied it from one Rachael did. It's the cuttlebug folder of the spider web, just done on white paper. I think it's pretty just like that.

September is sort of full with lots of fun things. The first Saturday we're heading to Champaign for Kayleigh's birthday party. Then next weekend I'm going to Rachael's and we're stamping all day on Saturday, starting Christmas cards. Then 3rd weekend she's coming up here and we're going to Bridgette's (Creative Escapes) for a crop/stamping evening and on Saturday we're going to St. Charles for a convention. The last weekend isn't stamping, but we're going to see Bill Engvell at the University for Steven's birthday.

But the fun doesn't stop in September. First Saturday in October I'm going to an all day Stampscapes class at Peddler's Den in Sommanauk. Third weekend in October Rachael and I are going to a retreat! That's what we're calling it anyway. It starts at 5 on Friday and ends at 3 on Sunday. A whole weekend of stamping. It's at a church camp in central Illinois. All meals provided by the camp and the entire weekend is only $125. I'm looking forward to it! So my fall is looking pretty exciting!

My stamping weekend.

Well, my friend Rachael came up a bit early, Wednesday evening instead of Thursday morning. So that gave us a whole day on Thursday!! We hit up JoAnn Fabrics and the Goodwill store in St. Charles. Bought a stamp set at JoAnn's and some different wooden things to alter at Goodwill. I found a huge wooden tray, it's about 30 inches long. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but hey it was only $3. Thursday night we took a class. It was on watercoloring with the Northwoods stamps. I was disappointed in the class. We did 3 cards, but only one had watercoloring on it. Friday I had to go into work for orientation, lucky was done early. Saturday we stamped all day. We worked on fall holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween. This is one of the cards I did.

The images of the three little monsters and the trick or treat saying are from the Angel Company. The candy corn background is from Stampin Up. I used my bind-it-all to punch the holes on the sides of the black paper. I had saw something similar in a stamping magazine, so this is my version of it.

Look what I made!!

I got this cut out from Archivers a couple years ago for like $2. When I was unpacking stuff last month I put all of these type things together to motivate me to work on the. So I did this one today and I have 2 more that say smile. I'm working on those too.

I covered this with some light green paper and edged it with brown chalk ink. I think stamped some swirls with tan chalk ink and then used a solid butterfly with rust chalk ink, and black chalk ink with a solid dragonfly. It's hard to tell too much detail from the picture since I had to stand back far enough to get the whole thing in the picture. There is ribbon tied in various places and some dragonfly brads and a charm on there too. The dot on the i is a flower. I'm going to hang it on my living room wall next to some pictures of the kids.

Tomorrow I'm off with my friend to take a class so probably won't be back on here until Monday of next week. She's here all weekend. Bye!

No time to stamp!!

We were busy all last week with Ed on vacation. At the end of the week we went down to Springfield for the state fair. I was a bit disappointed with that. Seemed to be lots of empty spaces and what was there wasn't as good as it has been in the past. Even the political tents weren't giving away the freebie junk the way they use to. I guess the "not a recession" is hitting everyone hard.

We had my MIL's 70th birthday party on Saturday. I've been busy this week making a small scrapbook of the pictures from it. It was only a 6 x 6 book and had 20 pages, so it didn't take me long. I just got done with it! I'll mail it off to her next week when I go to the postoffice. So what little bit I "touched" a stamp was small and for the scrapbook.

Yesterday I went back to school shopping. FOR ME! I found some great clearance specials on some clothes and bought a new pair of tennis shoes. I also made a trip to the Good Will store in St. Charles. Look at the picture. I think it's meant to be a smallish towel rack of some kind, but doesn't it do great for holding my punches!? I saw somewhere on the internet someone had made something like this and when I saw the towel rack in the store I had to try it. Only cost me $2. Since I know it works, I'm going to look for another one next time I'm over there. Once we finally get our final house, I'll have Ed build one for me. I plan to have that room be huge.

My friend Rachael is coming up on Thursday. We're taking a Northwoods watercoloring class in St. Charles. I have to work on Friday so she'll probably go back to St. Charles and hit up all the hobby store and I'm sure the Good Will store. Saturday, the plan is to start on fall/Halloween cards. I know it's early, but next week school starts! Hopefully I can figure out a good schedule so I'll still have time to stamp.

New Stamps/Field Trip

Ed and I went yesterday up to Madison, WI. He wanted to go to the Henry Villa Zoo. Nice little zoo. Mostly shady and a good variety of animals. Plus it was free!

Of course if I was driving 2 hours to do something we had to find a stamp store or scrapbook store. Of course I found both. In McFarland, just south of Madison I visited Gina K designs. She has a small store there featuring her designs and a few embellishments, cuttlebug folders, and punches. I bought two sets of stamps. Hers are cleverly packaged in a tin CD holder. I like that way to store the stamps. The only thing I didn't like was I had to cut them apart. I think they're a bit pricey and thought they'd already be cut, but only took a few minutes. This card was made with one set of them. It's called "Text Message." I was thinking of my granddaughter (almost 10) and my 15 year old niece when I bought it. The other set has a couple cute crabs in it. I almost bought the Christmas set with the crab, but thought I could just add a Santa Hat to the crab in the other one and use it year round!

Anyway the saying at the bottom of this card is from an older Stampin UP set. I wanted something at the bottom, but not flowers. I send to 3 men each week in my chemoangels and soldier cards, so try not to get too girly. Sometimes it's hard!

We're off tomorrow to Springfield. We'll be going to the state fair parade tomorrow night and then Ed and I are going to the fair on Friday. Steven doesn't want to go, so that means we can stay all day! Saturday is my MIL's birthday open house.

Next week I have to actually go into work a day and a half. Both are orientation days, but I'm not looking forward to it. Seems like June and July were busy with unpacking and moving my mom, now August is here and it's almost over before it starts!