And The Winner Is.....

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday. Here in Santee, it is sunny and just an absolutely beautiful day!!

I have been busy working on my project for Butterflies, Bugs and Blooms and I know you are all anxious to find out who has won my FREE pass to the event. So, I won't keep you in suspense any longer.......drum roll please...........

riclyn said.......

How exciting! Let the adventure begin!
Lynn

Congratulations, Lynn. I know you will enjoy your adventure with us. Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment. Sadly, I could only award one pass but there is still time for the rest of you to get the early bird price of $15. Just head on over to Cheryl's blog to get signed up. We look forward to seeing you "in the garden."

'Til next time.....................

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!

Fun New Adventure and a Freebie

I am so excited to be part of a new adventure with a fantastic group of stampers!! It is a fun online event in which you will receive 10 projects in 15 days. There will also be some fun challenges you can join :) The projects will be both 3-D and cards each with it's own step-by-step tutorial. This group of designers is amazing and I know you will not be disappointed with the event.

To celebrate being part of the design team, I am offering a FREE subscription to one lucky visitor. To enter the drawing, just leave a comment to this post and tell me what you like best - Butterflies, Bugs, or Blooms (that is the theme of the projects). To join, just click on the link in the left column or click on the picture in this post.

The early bird price is only $15!!! That is just $1.50 per tutorial - what a great deal!!





I will hold the drawing on May 21st so be sure to check back to see if you are the winner. I won't ask you to leave your contact info in the post (but you are welcome to if you choose) but I will need it if you win so be sure to check back. You can e-mail it to me privately then.

This is going to be so fun and it will be some wonderful projects you can re-create for summer activities. I hope you will hop on over to Cherylann's blog and sign up today!! Hope to see all of you in our "little garden of Butterflies, Bugs & Blooms." 'Til next time.......................

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!

VC Rocks Blog Hop - Color My World

I hope you are enjoying the VC Rocks Blog Hop!! There are some amazing projects for your viewing pleasure from some very talented ladies - 30 of them!!!!

You probably just arrived from the blog of the very talented Angela Walters. She is awesome! I just love her work.

With the theme this month being "Color My World" I couldn't help but combine some bright colors with some coloring techniques for my project. And with spring in the air and summer on it's way, I had to choose a stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog. I chose "Touch of Kindness" to create this card:




I just adore these little birds in the birdbath. It reminds me of the scene outside the living room window here at my parents' home. They do get pretty lively sometimes :) To color the image, I used the pastels and markers. I colored the sentiment from "Word Play" with markers, then huffed (the only time that is legal) before stamping it on the cardstock:





The complete list of supplies:

Stamp Set: Touch of Kindness, Word Play

Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper

Ink: Basic Gray

Accessories: Big Shot with Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Whisper White 3/8-inch Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Pastels, Stampin' Write Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Blender Pen

I love using the pastels for a very subtle coloring effect. I like the markers when I want a bolder image like I got with the sentiment. Mixing and matching is always fun and helps add dimension to your project. I hope I have inspired you to explore the possibilities with some color today and that you enjoy the rest of the projects on the blog hop. Your next stop is with Debbie Martin - you will not be disappointed!!

'Til next time..............................,

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!

Try Stampin' On Tuesday

I am so excited to be the Guest Designer over on Try Stampin' On Tuesday today!! They are such a talented group and I am honored to "be one of them" for this challenge. Their sketches are always lots of fun and this one is no exception:

With all of the traveling last week and the unpacking and getting back into the swing of things at work, I have to admit I was at a bit of a "loss of Mojo" at first. So, I decided - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - and just followed the sketch to the "T" this time :) It really is OK to do that now and then. This is what I came up with:

The complete list of supplies:

Stamp Set: Fabulous Florets

Cardstock:
Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper

Ink: Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Marina Mist 5/6" Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Sponges

I just love the colors in this Designer Series Paper - and there is such a great variety in the prints. To showcase the small flower, I decided to stray away from my usual style of adding it with a dimensional. So, I punched the Scallop Oval from scrap of Whisper White and laid it on my Whisper White layer. Then I used it as a mask to sponge with Wild Wasabi and then Pacific Point. The cool thing is that now I also have the oval piece that is sponged around the edges to use on another project :) I just LOVE those 2-fers!!!! LOL!!

I had so much fun with this sketch and I hope you will hop on over to Try Stampin' On Tuesday and play along with the challenge this week. Thanks for stopping by here so I could share my card with you. 'Til next time................................,

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!

On the road again.......

Hi everyone!! Just wanted to update you - I am leaving Michigan tomorrow morning and heading back to sunny California. The heat will be a welcomed addition to my life...lol!! It has just been tooo cold here lately!!

I will not be posting for the next few days while I travel - yes, I am driving :) It is a long trip but I need to have my vehicle when I get there. Such is life......pray for me as gas prices have been soaring lately :(

Can't wait to get back to "my kids" and stamping. I have been packing and sorting for what seems like an eternity!!! I need a break!

I hope you will come back next week and see some fun stuff that I am anxious to share with you :) I have been invited to join a new design team as well as guest designing on a challenge blog and I am so excited!!! I will post some details hopefully on Sunday (Monday at the latest).

If I can get some cool pics on the trip, I will try to post them when I stop to sleep at night. 'Til next time................................,

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!

Strength and Hope

In addition to the fabulous Summer Mini Catalog going live today, Stampin' Up is also kicking off the "Strength and Hope" Campaign.

I don't normally share alot about my personal life on my blog, but today I hope you will allow me to. In December of 2009, I had my very first abnormal mammogram. Three days later, I was in a room having a biopsy done. For the following 2 weeks, every worst-case scenario went through my mind. I didn't share any of this with my family because I just did not want them worrying until I knew the results. I spent Christmas Eve with my brothers and their families just like I had every other year but in the back of my mind, I was wondering how many more I might have with them. I cannot describe how I felt when I found it that I only had a benign cyst. There are just no words for the relief that flooded me. Shortly after that, my cousin's wife found out that her cancer was back. She had been treated for breast cancer about 2 years prior to that and this time it had come back in her brain. We lost her late that spring just 2 weeks before her son graduated from high school. Ironically, she is the one who referred me to the doctor who had the feeling that I needed an ultrasound in addition to that mammogram and that is how they found the cyst. Had he not done that, who knows how my story would have been told. So, I am grateful for this opportunity to help the fight against breast cancer through the Strength and Hope Campaign.

I love the stamp set and for each one that is sold through the Summer Mini Catalog sales period from May 1 - August 30, Stampin' Up will donate $2 to Breast Cancer Research. You can purchase yours here to help fight this horrible disease. This is a card I created with it for my March card class:






The complete list of supplies:

Stamp Set: Strength and Hope, Elements of Style

Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum

Accessories: Blushing Bride 1/2-inch Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Neutrals 5/16-inch Jumbo Brads, Paper Piercing Tool and Mat, Mini Glue Dots

I used a mini glue dot on the back side of the ribbon to hold the to of the loop down against the card. I really love this stamp set and I hope you do as well. Double satisfaction from a purchase is always nice - and that is what you get with this. Your purchase will allow Stampin' Up to add to their donation for Breast Cancer Research. I hope you will consider making that purchase.

Now for another update. I posted that I had to return to Michigan at the end of March due to my husband's health. Well, we recently found out that his cancer has returned. He was originally diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which is a cancer of the bone marrow, in November 2001. He has been in remission for about 6 years. We always knew that it would come back, we were just hoping it would take longer. His type of cancer is not curable so we just do what we can to put it in remission for whatever length of time we can get. He will most likely start treatment in a couple of months which will involve several months of chemotherapy and then another stem cell transplant. I will avoid the gruesome details but please keep us in your prayers. Like I said, I don't normally share quite this much personal stuff, but cancer is not a discriminating disease - it affects all of us in one way or another. I have been an advocate and volunteer with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a result of Jim's diagnosis. Whatever we can do to spread awareness and caring is just as essential as making monetary donations for research. Don't worry, I won't get on my soapbox - I just wanted to share with all of you.

I hope you enjoy the card I shared today and I apologize for any depression I might have caused. I appreciate all of you who visit my blog and I look forward to sharing more with you. 'Til next time........................................,

Happy Stamping,

Laurie

Remember to get your mammogram!