Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Love You FRIEND.

I LOVE the way this card turned out. This was inspired by Retro Sketches. These sketches really challenge you to make do with what you have. I am not a "big time" Demonstrator and my customer base is super small so I do not have a whole lot of stamp sets. These sketches really get me to think outside the box and improvise with what I do have. I saw the idea of cutting out the letters in the word on Pinterest {sorry I do not know the source}. I wanted to add the word "friend" to this sentiment and stamping it wasn't working out so that's when I decided to cut each letter out and pop it up with a dimensional. 

I love the way this turned out so much, I will for sure be using this sketch again. I already used it to design another card and I might even use it for an upcoming swap I will be participating in. I hope you like this card as much as I do:) 








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Here are the items used: 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
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Monday, July 27, 2015

Make it Monday.

Once again this is not the original design I had in mind for this challenge. My first design was such a dud, it totally did not turn out how I visioned it {nothing ever does}. I am very happy with the way this card came out. I made a card very similar to this for card class a few months ago. This inspiration came from the Fab Friday Challenge Blog. This week they have a color challenge. I hope you like the card I created:)




Here are the items I used: 



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog


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Friday, July 24, 2015

Friday Rewind.

Three weeks and counting!!!! 20 days left until school starts!!! Cameron has been rather lazy the last few weeks when it comes to doing anything school related. I cannot get him to read or write or do any math without complaining or not giving it 100%. So the last 3 weeks of summer break will be bootcamp for him. He totally needs it! I don't expect him to spend all summer doing school work BUT he needs to get back into the habit and since he's been a slacker and not listening when it comes to that stuff I am gonna get tough with him and he can either do it the correct way or go to his room until he's ready....he really needs to work on his reading.

The boys had their last swim lesson yesterday. They wanted to signup for more but since we are getting close to school starting I would like a little calm before the storm and not have to worry about leaving the house Monday thru Thursday every morning PLUS there are a few things we have planned and getting out of the house early around here when it's going to100 degrees is a must. 

 This time it was Easton crying over not getting a certain flavored lollipop. 


Last week we went to State Fair, we met my Mom and some good friends out there. The kids of course had a blast and wanted to do everything. They got to watch their favorite show...which was the Motor Bikes {that's what the kids call them}. They love watching the bikes jump and do crazy stuff. 





A couple weekends ago we took Bentley to see his first movie at the Theaters, the Minion Movie. All three loved it and thought it was so funny. Bentley did great and only had to go to the bathroom twice. That's something else I needs to talk about. The potty training is going GREAT and he is I would say 100% trained. He's never really had an accident out and about and finally is going poop in he toilet and not in his underwear. I am so happy we are over that. Grandma is going to take him shopping for a new toy because of his accomplishment:)


I was trying to get a decent picture but I had to keep backing up and Ryan was like OKAY enough pictures. I love my 50mm lens but sometimes when I am close I have to back up to fit everyone. So therefore he is looking at whatever and Cameron is out of focus. 

I had card class on Sunday and the New Catalog Kick-Off Party. No new customers but that is OK....my loyal ones were here and that meant a lot. They keep me going and motivated to not give up. I appreciate them so much for always coming to card class and supporting me...I {heart} them so much. 

Last weekend we went to my BIL and SIL house to help break in their brand new pool. It took a couple weeks longer than expected to finish but it's finally done. The backyard is just about done. Once all the plants and flowers are in it's going to look so nice. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time over there in the next 3 weeks...we will end up there on the weekends when school starts. The kids are loving it, especially since they are like super swimmers now. Both Cameron and Easton have improved a lot just in a month BUT Easton I would have to say has improved the most. I am so proud of him and he's not afraid to try new things. Cameron on the other hand is complete opposite of Easton. He struggles with new things but still did great and is a much swimmer now than 4 weeks ago. 


They both wear these goggles anytime they are swimming. You should see the tan line....not cool.

The other day we decided to go out to the lake. Since we are in a drought here in California our local lake is very very low BUT it does make going out to the lake a little nicer. There are way more "spots" to pick from...you just have to drive a little farther. It is pretty sad how low it is:(


 Mattie was in dog heaven.....swimming and rolling around in the sand....good times. She could barely move the next day and even a little slow today. 



We think the chopper must have been doing some training for all the wildfires. The chopper filled and dumped the bucket of water for about an hour. It was pretty cool to see and the kids of course loved it. 



Thursday, July 23, 2015

Sweet Sunday Sketch.

I almost forgot I had made this card the other day and hadn't posted it yet. I ended up making 2 versions of this card. I couldn't decide which I liked better so I made both. 

Today I was able to view the new Holiday Catalog online.....AND so many cute new products! It seemed like more than half was Christmas, lot's of bundles with framelits, super cute kits, and lots more. I cannot wait to get my copy in the mail...which will hopefully be in a week or so. I will be able to order them for all my wonderful customers in a couple weeks. 

I hope you like the cards I created using from Sweet Sunday Sketch











Here is the sketch

Here are the items I used: 



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Fab Friday Sketch Challenge.

I am really enjoying these challenges, I wish I would have started participating in them sooner!  This isn't the original card I had designed for this challenge, the original one was yesterday's Make it Monday but I liked that card as it is with no embellishment in the corner. This card would have been easier to create if I had the square framelits {those are on my wish-list and have been for awhile}.

I hope you like my Fab Friday Challenge. I love this sketch, it's nice and simple and would make for a great class card.









Here is the sketch


Here are the items I used: 
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Monday, July 20, 2015

Make it Monday.

Today started out super muggy and yucky and ended up being a hot one. There were no complaints at swim lessons this morning. Only 3 more days of swimming lessons and we are on count down mode until school starts.....24 days!!! WHOOOHOOO!!!

I am loving the new Watercolor Wings stamp set. There are so many different color combos you can try and almost everything looks so pretty together. I think I need to try out the smaller butterfly. I have yet to make anything using the smaller one in this set. 








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Here are the items I used to make this card: 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog



Monday, July 13, 2015

Make it Monday.

Happy Monday!!!! I was able to sneak in a little creating today before we headed off to swim lessons. Today the boys started their second session of swim lessons and 2 out of the 3 did great....more on that will be posted on this week's Friday Rewind. 

I love the black and browns together. I used to never pair the two, especially with clothing and matching up outfits and such. But nowadays I love it. So I thought I would give this card a try using the clear embossing powder with the Swallowtail stamp and then sponge/ink over it. I love the way it turned out. I can't wait to try it out on some other DSP patterns. I originally was going to use the new Watercolor Wings stamp set for this card but decided on the Swallowtail instead, just like most of the time when I have a vision or idea I end up coming up with something totally different
I hope you can get some inspiration from the card I created:)







Here are the items I used: 




Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday Rewind.

WHEN DOES SCHOOL START?! In about 5 weeks! Seriously Cameron is going to drive me into the looney bin....and that's no joke. Send more wine by the cases just to get me through the next 5 weeks of being home all day with his little butt. He has lost all games, all electronic games since the beginning of the week. He was good for one day. The day after he lost all his games. Then he was back to being a little 7.5 year little punk. Seriously no clue where he gets the attitude and the talking back. He constantly fights with Bentley and most of the time him and Easton play goof together but the last few days he has just been pestering him. 

So that's what I have been dealing with all week. Oh JOY! Grandma did take all three boys yesterday for while so that was super nice. And the only reason Cameron was allowed to go because I was so mad at him I didn't want him near me. I needed a break!!! I don't know what it's going to take for him to realize how he talks and acts is not OKAY!

The boys finished up their first session of swim lessons and will start another on Monday. So another 2 weeks of going to swim lessons 4 days a week. Yesterday it was very unusual weather here for July. It was cloudy, breezing, and chilly at 10:45 in the morning and Cameron would not get in the water. He wasted the entire 30 minute lesson. He did get in the last 5 minutes up to his waist. 

Grumpy Cameron

I had a dental appointment this morning to get my bridge put in. YES folks I have a bridge. People are always like WTF...how do you need a bridge you are so young. Well that would be because I had 3 babies and with each baby something different happened to 3 different teeth and then waited waaaaay too long to take care of it. Finally just got it over with. The only reason I decided to get it done now was because the mold in the back needed a crown and I could not wait any longer to get it taken care of and actually I am keeping my fingers crossed I won't need a root canal...it was super close to the nerve. Anyway  I am so glad that's over with and hoping it feels a little better in the next couple of days...its pretty sore tonight, especially when I tried to flossing it. I absolutely hate going to the dentist! 

So the other day Mattie {the dog} jumped into the garden box right freaking in front of me. So then today Ryan asked if I picked the 3 little cherry tomatoes, then I noticed the little mini bell pepper was gone, then I saw a had been eaten. Ryan said it must be a squirrel. The I saw a bunch of white fur brushed on the tomato plant and my poblano pepper plant was leaning over. We look at Mattie and she has green on her face....BUSTED. Then as I was scooping poop tonight I saw more evidence in her poop. Freaking dog!!!! 

I am always trying to come up with ways to organize and clean up my little craft corner. My work space is so small and crowded because I don't really have anywhere to keep my stuff. I like having my stuff out and easily accessible or else I won't use and i will forget about it. So I remembered we have had this 2 drawer filing cabinet that we have had for a few years and it's been stored up high the garage. Ryan got it down and sanded it for me. I painted it PINK {with 3 boys I need some pink in my life} it's not a great paint job and Ryan pointed that out. Apparently I don't know how to spray paint. We will see how this addition helps keep my work area a little cleaner. 


Here is a family picture from the Forth of July. We had the family over for dinner and fireworks. 

Once again what the heck is going on with these pictures. They are crystal clear when I view on my computer and upload here and they like crap:(



Thursday, July 9, 2015

A Sketch Challenge.

Today the weather is much cooler than normal. There is a cool breeze and its overcast. Totally not the normal kind of weather for July but I am enjoying the change from 110 it was last week. The boys have swim lessons this morning and they are already less than thrilled about going..so that should interesting:)

I am linking up with Sweet Sunday Sketch. The challenge this week was to use any past sketch. I chose sketch #268 and I created 2 cards. I really wanted to use the new in-color Delightful Dijon. I haven't really used it much as I am not sure what to do with it.  So for the first card I made that my main color and used the Watercolor Wings stamp set for the first time....Love it!







Here is the sketch I chose for this weeks challenge. 



Here is the second card I made using this same sketch.







Here are the items I used to make these cards:


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog




Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Monday, July 6, 2015

Make it Monday.

I got inspiration for today's Make it Monday from Retro Sketches. I am really loving the In-colors. At first I wasn't so sure about them BUT the more I see them together I love them!!! I love simple, easy, and cute cards. I love making them simple and easy for my customers to re-create. 
For all the locals I am having card class/New catalog kick-off next weekend Sunday July 19 at 11am and 1pm. Find the link here to my monthly calendar for more information....OR check out Facebook. I have some ideas already for card class but will have to narrow down my choices this week to get ready. 

Here is the sketch. 

And here is my version.....hope you like it:)









Here are the items I used: 
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog