I'm Baaack!!

Okay so the Stampin' Up Regional training was pretty cool. I did manage to get up and was leaving my house at 5am, however, I don't functional all that well at hours where I should be sleeping and forgot my camera. I know, HOW could I do that?! Well, probably part of it is that I knew my neighbor and more of the soon-to-be upline were going on Saturday and so I was pretty sure one of them would remember. So once I get a few pics. I will share some of my favorite inspirations.
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Now for the business at hand...it is Saturday so it's time for Lauren's sketch which looks like:

And here is my card. We are going to my cousin's wedding tonight so I got this ready for her. It will be an outdoor wedding and the invitation had an enclosure telling about accomodations, etc. which had a picture of sunflowers on it. So the old olive and summer sun colors fit perfectly for their card.

For the large circle I started with the reverse mask technique and old olive. I used a little always artichoke around the edge to give it some depth. Also, it is hard to see but I dry embossed the swirly pattern (shown on the yellow part circles) on the white. The large flower I made twice and then cut it out (don't have that flower punch). To get it to stand out a little I scored each petal down the middle. The yellow part circles are raised up a little with large glue dots (can't find my dimensionals).

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Thanks for looking and have a great weekend! Till next time, Tasha

7 Hours And Counting!

Oh my gosh! I leave in about 7 hours! I will get up at 4:30 and I'm not even sure my clock HAS that time. ;) Actually that is the time my dh gets up when he is on day shift (so 7 times per month) but I rarely hear his alarm. Lucky for me he is off tomorrow so I am able to go to the Stampin' Up regional workshop/convention and he will be here running the house. I shall return with lots of great ideas, samples, etc. and can't wait to share them! Have a great Friday and thanks for stopping.
Till next time, Tasha
PS Can you tell I'm excited?!

One Last Invitation

Just a reminder if you haven't participated in Cammie's Heart To Heart Challenge yet, the cut off is tomorrow, Friday at 8 pm central. The goal is to get as many beautiful cards as possible sent out to Alzheimer's caregivers. And in return for your good deed you get a chance to win "some" blog candy. This may be the largest blog candy ever! Here's a sampling of what one lucky winner will receive:
Gina K Designs : $50 gift certificate
Stamping Bella: $50 gift certificate
SmARTworks: $25 gift certificate
High Hopes Stamps: SIX stamps (on cling) from the NEW release –Release date is September 28 so I cannot show you the images but I saw them and they are AWESOME!!!
Jacksonbelle Embellishments: Surprise package...
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And there are so many more generous companies who have donated to the pot. But not just companies, many stampers and crafters have sent cards and items to up the ante. Three of these are Cindy Motherway, Michele Boyer, and Lauren Meader--and let's not forget Cammie herself.
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Thanks for stopping by. Till next time, Tasha
PS This is my 2nd or 3rd post today so scroll down so you don't miss anything!!

My Alzheimers' Caregivers Card

I am finally posting the card I made for Cammie's (Carolyn King) Heart To Heart Challenge. Yes, for those that are bothered I did retrim the ribbon before sending--I just couldn't find my good scissors before taking the pic. (They are hidden so no one else will use them!)

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Thanks for stopping and have a good day. Till next time, Tasha

I've Been Tagged!

Oh my! When I first got tagged I thought eeekkk that will be a lot of work. But honestly, is it really work to visit the blogs I love to stalk and give them a "poke"? Nope, it's actually quite fun to play so I hope you get tagged, too.
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My friend Heather (also referred to as "the neighbor" in previous posts) is who caught me and this is how the game works.
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Tagging Game Rules:

1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog.


2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog--some random, some weird.


3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.


4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here you go, seven things about me...

1. I am truly blessed to have all 4 grandparents still living.


2. I spent the first year of my life in a beach front house in San Diego. Followed by 4 years in Colorado Springs (what were my parents thinking?)


3. Public speaking makes me sick to my stomach (though I do my fair share and nobody seems to be able to tell).


4. I think chocolate goes very well with beer--not all those salty foods normally served.


5. If I ever have enough money to start my own charity it will be to re-roof houses that need it.


6. I have 2 dogs and 10 chickens running around in the backyard.


7. And for weird: I dated my step-dad's son for two years. Actually we were dating first and that is how his dad met my mom but then they got married and eventually we did not.

So now for the list of my tagees in no particular order...You can visit these ladies by clicking on their names. I'm sure they would all love to hear from you.

1. Jessica Russell at Kindred Arts


2. Jessy at My Sanity Depends on Stamping


3. Jennifer Buck at The Buck Stamps Here


4. Patter Cross at Triple the Scraps


5. Julie Mutch at Mutch to Stamp
6. Lynda Moss at StampINKins
7. Tisha Yoast at Craftee Bee

So go give the gals some love and pick up some inspiration while you're there! Thanks for stopping in. Till next time, Tasha

PS Hip Hop starts in about an hour! Happy Thursday!!!

Christmas Samples As Promised

Well, here they are. The sample cards for my Christmas workshop. I am just showing them small so you can get an idea. This workshop I am doing as a fundraiser for our school's PTO and also for our church youth group the following day. It will be a pre-order/pre-pay set up where the participants choose one design and then come make 20 (or more) cards.
Gold Dove Kit
This one uses the SU set To You and Yours. I used riding hood red, night of navy, very vanilla and old olive. The dove is embossed in gold.
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Snowflakes
These cards (shown on a navy background) use the SU set Snow Burst in shades of purple or shades of blue. The greeting is from To You and Yours. And the large snowflake on the right is done with heat and stick powder to hold on the gorgeous cosmo glitter from SU.
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Whimsical Tree
The tree is done with the faux metal technique (see SU website) and uses the tree from Season of Joy. The swirl is from the same set and stamped in silver on both the garden green and the night of navy. The greeting from the hostess set Punches Three is stamped in silver on real red and night of navy and cut out with the scallop square punch.
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Our House
This card has a Sanded background stamped in versa-mark on craft. Old olive DSP from SU makes up the ribbon. The medallion will actually be a scalloped red riding hood oval but I haven't had time to rip it off and make the scalloped one now that my punch came! Also, there will be dazzling diamonds on the roof to make it sparkle.
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So that's what I've been working on. Maybe in all this craziness I will actually get MY Christmas cards done before Dec. 24! Oh, I almost forgot. I am going to the Stampin' Up regional this Friday (as in day after tomorrow) in Kansas City. I am really excited. So keep your fingers crossed that I make it there. It is about a 3.5 hour drive so I have to leave at 5am!! That is not a time that usually appears on my clocks and I just pray that they fixed my van properly yesterday so I don't end up stuck somewhere missing the sure-to-be fabulous event.
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Thanks for stopping in! Till next time, Tasha

Heart To Heart Blog Candy

In case you didn't know, you have a chance to do something good and win something great this week! A fellow stamper has taken her idea to be generous and let so many become a part of it. To find out more visit Cammie's blog. Here is the beginning of her post from Sunday, Sept. 21:
WOW! I just cannot believe how big this got. As most of you know by now, I recently released my newest set through Gina K Designs called Whimsical Autumn, which benefits the Alzheimer's Association. My grandmother passed away in June from complications of this horrible disease and I wanted to try to help in any little way I could. I recently found out that today is World Alzheimer’s Day. The Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association DOUBLED all donations given up until today so I asked Gina for some preliminary figures. After just two weeks, lots of sets have been sold. On Friday, I sent over my first commission--$450. So the first contribution ended up being $900! I am thrilled.100% of my proceeds from this set will always go to the Alzheimer’s Association, but it was so much fun to send that first donation over.
.Guess what--her blog candy is over $800 worth of goods so you might want to check it out before Thursday so that you have time to make your card. You can find the directions for entering to win at the end of her post.
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I will post my card once I make it! We had our company this weekend and that was fun. Unfortunately I had to take 2 kids to the doctor today and my van got diagnosed with needing $700 in repairs which will happen as soon as I can get it back there tomorrow. EEEkkkk!
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Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your entry if you choose to play. Till next time, Tasha

It's Saturday Sketch Time!

It's so nice to be home 2 days in a row. I am getting caught up on the house and yard. It's so hard when you run run run and only have time in between to dump stuff off and grab new stuff for the next event. Now I need to work on my van this afternoon...

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But it's Saturday and I do love Lauren's sketches so I had to take a little "mytime" break. At least I remembered to do a card I can use for a thank you! If you want to play, too, just click here to see her Saturday sketch.

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Now I'll show you my sample. I used SU close to cocoa, pumpkin pie, summer sun cardstock and old olive designer series paper. I did emboss gold leaves on the cross (same stamp as on the summer sun).

And here is a crazy thing. I moved the card to the shade and the colors completely changed in the camera. I think I might like this one better!

Unfortunately that's all the time I will have today. My dad's birthday was yesterday so he will come with my brother and niece today to celebrate. I need to get started on the cake and finish up the house. Hopefully, we can get the kids to spend most of the time outside since they can make quite a mess! And I don't want to have to get ready for company all over again tomorrow.

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Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! Till next time, Tasha

Squeezing In One Card

Nothing gets me to clean house like the impending guest visit. Last night before my oldest went

to bed he asked "are the Johnsons coming tomorrow night?" My answer was that the DH had never called them back so I didn't think so. But he replied "yes he did call them, the other night." To which my reply was "WHAT?!!" To fill you in, the Johnsons are a great family--with 6 kids. So I need some prep time if I am going to have them over for dinner. Needless to say I got up and running this morning just in case. At 9 I called them to find out and, whew, they can't come till Sunday. Well, I did my best to do some more housework and laundry but by 2 I couldn't stand it anymore.

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I looked up today's challenge on SplitCoastStampers and had to play. Today is limited supplies and the title is White Out. The card is to be mainly white with black/gray/brown and one other color--that's it. Accessories are welcome. So here's my quick creation. I embossed birthday balloons on the background with iridescent ice to jazz it up.

Too bad I didn't make a thank you card. I need to send a few out this weekend. That's all the stamping time I get today though, the kids are home and the laundry beckons.

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Thanks for stopping in! Till next time, Tasha

When It Rains It Pours!

Why is it that everything happens at once? Yesterday I went to a women' retreat 90 miles away that we had scheduled a month ago. In the meantime, I got bumped from the last PTO meeting to the Sept. meeting which was--guess what--yesterday. This was important for me because it was my chance to pitch my idea for a Christmas card workshop/fundraiser. Also, my church council met last night and the youth committee was asking for permission to do a Christmas card workshop/fundraiser. (Guess who suggested that?) I also was supposed to go to a training meeting for the scout parents who (got suckered) volunteered to be in charge of popcorn sales.

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Well, HOORAY! The PTO decided yes on the fundraiser as did the church. SO... I will be putting a large first order when I sign up in October. My rather brilliant neighbor, soon-to-be-upline, recommended starting this way so that I can get lots of supplies right away. The hard part begins now but hopefully it will be fun along the way too. A couple weeks ago I posted the cards we were working on for the workshop. Coming up I will post what they evolved into...

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Believe it or not I have had time to look at some weekly challenges. I finished a card for the color challenge put out by KWerner to use the following SU colors:

chocolate chip, bravo burgundy, pumpkin pie, very vanilla (or white), old olive

I used bravo burgundy for the background and stamped it with chocolate chip. The horizontal strip is pumpkin pie layered with old olive designers series paper. Two hodgepodge brads hold on the hemp twine and the leaf image from Thank You blocks--2001 hostess set. For the leaf I used the pumpkin pie and bravo burgundy markers. I recommend putting the pumpkin on first!

This is all so very fun. I hope you feel challenged to play as well.

Thanks for looking! Till next time, Tasha

Glitter Surprise

Wow, I tried the Monday technique challenge at splitcoaststampers. I am not sure if the surprise is the great way the card turns out or if it is the surprise of how glitter gets everywhere besides the card! All supplies for this card are Stampin' Up. Having a limited background stamp collection (I own canvas) I chose a smaller thank you one that was in a hostess set recently. I was definitely surprised at how clear the words turned out! Of course, I used the very fine cosmo glitter. Overall size of card is 6x 3-1/4.

The cardstock is orchid opulence and confetti white. The flower is from Heartfelt Thanks. And the words "thanks for all you do" are from Simply Fabulous. I colored the edges of both small pieces with the orchid opulence marker and distressed the edges of the white layer to give it some extra depth.

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I hope this gets you inspired to try it. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for looking. Till next time, Tasha

My Own ss05 Designs

Well, I outdid myself and got two cards done with this sketch. ;) You can see the sketch in the previous post. Of, course it was late so the lighting is weird but you can see enough of them.
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On this first one I used USI (unidentified sale item) print paper but the rest is Stampin' Up. Main color is summer sun with flowers from Classic Background stamped all over in versa-mark. Large saying is from All Holidays and the little tag in pocket says "a little something" from the Best Yet hostess set. The large flower is created with the scalloped circle punch in riding hood red layered with assorted SU flowers.

The football card is on bravo burgundy. All the stamping is actually done in retired cranberry crisp with the Just Football and Sporting sets. The helmet is stamped in white on burgundy. The summer sun stars and the #1 are embossed with iridescent ice so they are shimmery even though it doesn't show in the picture.

I struggled with this design, a little too many elements than I normally use, but it's nice to try new things. So let me know what you think!

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Thanks for looking! Till next time, Tasha

Another SS

I am just going to try to keep up with Lauren's Saturday Sketch. Maybe later I can add some of the other fun challenges out there. But for now I will K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stamper!).


I think this one will be hard and I will post whatever I come up with later. It is raining and raining here and has been for 3 days so will be a good day to play inside.
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If you want to see the creations of the sketch team check Lauren's blog under Saturday Sketch Team for their links. Happy stamping!

Thanks for stopping by. Till next time, Tasha

Saturday Sketch

Happy Friday night to you! It's been a good day. I finished two cards using last Saturday's sketch BEFORE the next Saturday. If you're not sure what I'm talking about I found it on Lauren M's blog at SplitCoastStampers.

The picture makes the beautiful, sparkly, magenta, fluffy, ribbon look sort of hairy and scary! But it's pretty in person. The print paper is "unidentified sale item" but the card stock, ink, and stamps are from Stampin' Up.

Virtually same card but for a man. On both I used SU Heartfelt Thanks flower with versa-mark and the outline on this one is in ballet blue.

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Woo-hoo I got comment #2! Thanks, Heidi, for visiting and for the picture upload help. Now I won't pull all my hair out trying to post. ;)

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Thanks for stopping by! Till next time, Tasha

First Comment!

Igot my first comment!! Thanks, Julie, you made my day! I am enjoying visiting blogs that I find like Julie's (http://mutchtostamp.blogspot.com/) -- what a great way to get inspired.

I started the Saturday sketch I found but still haven't finished a card! However, the fair turned out to be a good time. I didn't place with my first 3 entries, but was a proud mom! Each of my boys (ages 8 and 12) entered one contest and won 1st place! I finally redeemed myself on Monday with a 3rd place in the Hidden Valley Ranch competition. And on Tuesday I won 1st in the King Arthur Flour. This is only my second year to enter so very exciting. Some of the ladies I competed with have been doing this for 23 years and they take it a little more seriously! I can tell you my family is tired of Spam and yeast breads right now...

One of these times I will remember to put the pictures in first so that maybe I can get things arranged better. I am learning from everyone out there with a blog so bear with me! Now that I am done with fair entries I will see if I can finish some cards before the next Saturday sketch.

I wish you a good rest of the week. Say a prayer for all those affected by the Sept. 11 bombing as we remember that awful event tomorrow.

Till next time,

Tasha

Great gift idea!

I am putting the link to a YouTube tutorial I love. Dannie Graves shows how to make a card organizer. I hope you can use this for gifts or giveaways. I am thinking about making some that will be the gift for early orders at my Christmas card workshops.

One of these days I will work on cards again, but it is State Fair time and I have some cakes and goodies to bake over the next few days. Last year I entered for the first time and did very well. This year I am trying a few more categories including the Spam cookoff! My enthusiasm rubbed off on the neighbor's husband so we have a friendly rivalry going with the Spam. The kids (ages 12, 8, 6, 6, and 4 between us) have enjoyed taste-testing and so far keep voting for my creations!!

We also start the middle school football season today--hooray! And the weather changed from 95 to 65 between Monday and Tuesday just in time to get us in the fall/football mood. I do have to say I feel bad enjoying the weather so much when I know some places are dealing with the hurricane and all the awful things that follow a disaster. I truly hope that you are somewhere you can enjoy the early autumn.

Oh--my cake is done so it's time to go, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61q823ghb8

Have a great day!
Till next time, Tasha