Happy 2B

Change of Pace

 I love to take photographs of the flowers in my garden.  It gives me so much pleasure to take a few minutes out of my day and just walk through the garden.  I don't do it often enough but today I decided I needed a break and took a few minutes to enjoy the view!

Thought you might enjoy "the view" as well.  If you don't like creepy crawlies though, you might want to skip over the last picture in this post!! 

Anyone know what kind of spider this is?  It is very intimidating to look at but it actually was quite content to let me get very "close and personal" to get this photograph!

Nature's Nest

I guess on a roll and breaking  out of my "girly girl" mode.  Here's another card that could be used for the men in your life....

I stole the idea for this card right out of the Big Idea & Catalog.  I love that our catalog has so many beautiful samples to inspire our creativity but sometimes I just like to "CASE" what someone else has created.  (CASE means to "copy and selectively edit" or some say "copy and steal everything".)  Either way you look at it...thanks Stampin' Up! for some great ideas.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets - Nature's Nest, Asian Artistry

Cardstock - Mellow Moss, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip

Ink - Black Stazon

Accessories - Old Olive marker, So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, Linen thread, Mini library clip

Techniques - Watercoloring, tearing

An Awesome Swap Card

I received this awesome swap card at the Remarkable Hot Retreat last month in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The card was created by Sherri Eddleblute and it was one of my very favorites.  I think I might have to "case" this card for my upcoming Totally Techniques Class!!

Stamps:  En Francais, Note to Self, Razzle Dazzle, Sanded, Warm Words

Ink:  Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Versamark

Cardstock:  Kraft, Mellow Moss, Soft Suede, Whisper White

Accessories:  Clear EP, 1/2" Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon (reverse side showing), 3/8" Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack

Techniques:  Faux Tearing, Emboss Resist, Sponging

Big Shot Club

I love using my Big Shot so much that I have a class every month just to give me a reason to create another project.  This is one of the cards we made at a recent Big Shot Club gathering.  If you are interested in spending some hands-on time with the Big Shot, this class is for you.  If you already own a Big Shot, join us in making some fun projects.

The classes are only $8 ($5 for past or present Big Shot Club members) and include everything you need except adhesive...please BYO.  Check my class schedule (click on icon in left column) to find out when the next Big Shot Club gathering will take place.

Each month, I offer 10% off the die of the month so come have fun and save!!

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Flight of the Butterfly

Cardstock, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, DSP

Accessories:  Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, Big Shot Scallop Envelope, Big Shot Texturz Plate, Butterfly punch, Horizontal Slot punch

My Digital Studio Debut Coming Soon!

 

OCTOBER 2nd is the BIG DAY for the DEBUT of MY DIGITAL STUDIO!!  Don't forget to RSVP and be sure to come join us for a fun evening playing with Stampin' Up's newest "baby".  She is going to capture your heart...in other words, you are going to fall in love in a BIG WAY!!  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Be sure to RSVP by Monday, September 28 so I will have some idea of how many people will be attending. The event starts at 6:30 pm and ends at 9:30....The demonstration will start at 6:30 pm but drop by whenever it's convenient.

Friends Night Out

This month at my workshops I have enjoyed challenging myself again by making at least one MASCULINE card.  I used the stamp sets BEST WISHES & MORE and ALL HOLIDAYS.  I like to offer my customers an option to make a card or a 6x6 scrapbook page when they attend my FRIENDS NIGHT OUT workshops.   I try to use the same supplies in the project to make it easy.  Here's what everyone got to make that came to my workshops in September....

This is the 6x6 scrapbook page that they could choose.  Because I'm never sure what size each person uses to scrapbook, I choose the 6x6 and then they use it as a starting point.

Below you will see the how I used it on a 12 x 12 scrapbook page,  Thanks to Mary Polcin for this idea.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets: Best Wishes & More; All Holidays

Cardstock:  Dusty Durango, So Saffron, Black

Ink:  Soft Suede, Dusty Durange

Autumn Days

Not so long ago my husband asked me if I had a thank you card he could give his boss.  Of course with the boxes of cards I have in my stamp room, I said, "SURE!"  But then after looking for at least 15 minutes and , much to my dismay, not finding ONE suitable for a man, I realized that my "girly-girl" personality had taken over in my stamp room.  

At a recent swap I participated in,  I received several cards using the set AUTUMN DAYS.  With a little help from my friends, I actually saw the possibility that I might be able to break away from my "girly-girl" cards and come up with something for the men in my life.  So thanks to Debbie Adams, Nancy Martin and Cindy Fernsler Liek for these great ideas.  I used their inspiration to create the Scallop Envelope box and filled it with scented tea lights to give as a gift.

Top Note Treasures

This is the one of the four projects that my customers will be making in the Top Note Treasures class scheduled for September 28 at my home.  (Note:  Designer Paper will vary.)

The cost is $15 or FREE with a $35 order. If you are interested in registering for this class, simply send me an email to carolyn@oh2bstampin.com and I will invoice you via PayPal.  If you are not familiar with using PayPal, call me at 410-479-4348 and I can give you the information you can use to mail a check.  Payment is due no later than Wednesday, 9/23/09.

Shhhh...don't tell my friends Barbara and Joyce that I posted their picture on the internet!!  I love the picture..it was taken during a Girls Day Out at Longwood Gardens near Wilmington, Delaware.  They were standing behind a "waterfall wall".  We had so much fun that day.  I love our Girls Days.

Décor Elements Project

Have you seen our new Décor Elements?  Did you know you can get them FREE by hosting a fun FRIENDS NIGHT OUT in your home??  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!  You can see our latest mini  catalog by clicking on the Definately Decorative catalog in the left column.  You'll find something for everyone and don't forget you can get the cute Growth Chart on special thru September 30 for only $24.95 and it comes with a FREE applicator.  Click on the icon in the left column...the one that says "Just for Kids".

I made the project above by purchasing a small wooden tray and applying the free Level 1 Décor Element from the previous catalog.  In the Definately Decorative catalog, you will find FREE Décor Elements for your kitchen canisters (Level 1) or a fun but elegant reindeer named DASHER to help decorate your home for the Holidays.  You can apply Dasher to your front door, your windows, a mirror, glass table top or try a glass pane in a picture frame if you want to put him away after the holidays and bring him back again next year. 

The Décor Elements are easy to remove and but are designed for "one-time" use only.

Here are a few more projects where I used Décor Elements in my home...

 

My Digital Studio

 

 

This past January, I went to the Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida and was one of the LUCKY WINNERS of the MY DIGITAL STUDIO that will be available to customers on October 1, 2009.  One of the percs of being a demonstrator is that we get to preview new products usually a month in advance so we will know how to present the items to our customers....sooooo with that said.....I have been test driving this awesome product for the last few days and here is my first project!!  It is WAAAAAAY fun and really easy!

If you haven't already been hearing the BUZZ about MY DIGITAL STUDIO, you must be living under a rock because it's all everyone is talking about and now I know why.  The first thing I want to share is that it is USER FRIENDLY!!  The second thing I want to share is that it is USER FRIENDLY!!  Let me explain...there are templates that you can simply "drag and drop" your photos into and "voila", it's done.  Now if you have a creative bone in your body (and really...even if you don't), you are going to love playing with the embellishments, checking out all the Stamps and manipulating the punches.  (Notice the label in the page above...it's the Curly Label punch stretched out to fit my journaling!)

This software does a lot more than just scrapbook pages.   I'm calling it my INSPIRATION STATION because I can design multiple projects  including cards, calendars and just simple elements that I might want to print out and add to my paper projects. I can create digital projects such as DVD's and interactive albums!!   I can type a sentiment using several different fonts but if the size isn't what I'm looking for, I can just enlarge it!!  The possibilities are endless.  And the best part is that once I design the project, I can CHOOSE to print it out or to copy the idea using actual cardstock...no more wasted cardstock.  Now I can design it using the software first to make sure I'm happy with the finished project before I start cutting.

In the project above, I chose an 8 1/2" x 11" format because I want to experiment with "hybrid" scrapbook pages.  Hybrid is a term used for mixing the digital and paper elements.  I can add the digitally created element above to a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock and then add journaling or actual brads or ribbon rather than digitally composed ones.  Oh this is going to be too fun!!

It's also extremely economical at just $79.95...you get over 2000 elements including tons of stamp sets!!  The savings is HUGE!!  And for those of you who have storage problems, here's your simple solution!!

I could tell you all the features and benefits of owning this incredible product but if you're local, I'd like to do even better than that.  I would like to invite you to My Digital Debut on Friday, October 2, 2009 at my home.  Just email me (carolyn@oh2bstampin.com) to find out more details and then come play.  Test drive it yourself and try out all the features for yourself.  You can send the jpeg you create to your email address by just clicking on the SHARE button...you're going to love this!!

Now if you can't attend and want to know more, CLICK HERE.

Here's a another page I've been having fun with.....