New Specials for May

I just uploaded the May specials on my blog be sure to check them out.  I love this month's Stamp of the Month! 

 I think this set will be super fun for summer time cards, not to mention birthdays etc.

With a $30 order, you can add this cute stamp set for just $14.95!!

That makes each stamp just $1.50.  WOW....a great bargain!!

Also, don't forget to sign up for the giveaway this month.

Have a wonderful day!!
Char 

Still using my scraps

I am still using up my scraps!!!  Wow....how does one accumulate so many scraps???  I am determined to get these used up before I cut into newer card stock.   Ok, some times you have to cut into new card stock but often times, you would be surprised at how much you can find in your pile of scraps.

I am planning a yard sale for June to help me get rid of some 'excess' stamping supplies.  I have come to realize that I don't actually NEED tons of things to be able to sit down and play. Actually, having a little less is more freeing somehow!!  

Oh yes....it's fun to have the latest gadget or newest punch or what ever....but some how...I am finding that it doesn't make me any less happier if I don't have these things.  

It's a challenge to sit down with a box of scraps and a few stamps and see what I can create!

Here are a couple more cards I have made using my scraps or previous started cards.  I had previously put a card together...but never did get around to adding any stamping to it.  I just added a scalloped circle in black...stamped "Just a Note" to a white circle...and called it good.

 Then, I finished this card off by just adding some jewels to the center of the hearts.  

More Cards

I have made more cards AND got out some cards that I had started some time ago and hadn't finished....and finished them.  Do you ever just sit and put layers together....but then can't figure out what else to do with the card...so put it away till a later date?  I do...and then I get them all out and try and finish them.  Some times it works....some times it doesn't as I am not able to find the same colors of card stock that I had used or something else. But, it's a fun challenge. I am trying hard to use up all my scraps that I have been saving for years.  I have my Granddaughter and anyone else that comes over...use the card stock, embellishments and scraps of decorative paper that I have thrown in a box.  It's slowly but surely going down.  Then, I can bring in the tote full I have out in the garage.  

The first one, I took a trading card that I had received awhile back...and adhered it to a card base.
The second one...same idea.

None of them were anything super special....but just the fun of completing some cards that had been in various stages of completion.

 This is one I had done quite awhile ago

but it needed SOMETHING.  So, I added a thin strip of green card stock across the card on top of a strip of glossy card stock...and then added jewels.

And, finally, a small note card using left over scraps of designer paper and card stock. 

 

 Hopefully, I'll get a few more done today and can add them.

Saturday is Stamp Club and one of the newer members is hosting the club at my house.  She is coming up with the card for that day.  I am excited to see what she has up her sleeve!!

Have a great day!!!

Hugs,
Char 

Our Final Farewells

The Angel Company just released their 'Final Farewells' that will be discontinued from the main catalog.   

Each of these stamps are discounted 25% off their regular retail prices.  No other special offers or discounts apply to these stamps. 

This offer is good April 23 through June 25, 2010.

Now is the time to get those stamps that you have been wanting.  

If you don't have a catalog and would like to see a certain stamp set...let me know.

Have a FANTASTAC Weekend!!!

Hugs,

Char

I don't like to Stamp, Grandma

That is what my 15 year old Granddaughter told me.......but then she was 'bored' last Saturday and decided to sit in on a flip flop book class and make cards while we did our books.  

She decided she LOVES to paper craft!  

These are just a few of the cards she made.....and her FIRST attempts at card making. 

I have to say that she did a LOT better than I did when I first started out stamping. She already has some Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, Fall, Christmas and a St Patty's day card made.

YEAH for me, to finally have a stamping buddy right here in my own house!!!

Have a fabulous day!!

Hugs,
Char

Michelle Zindorf Workshop coming soon!!!

Less than two months and I'll be attending a Michelle Zindorf workshop in Salem, OR.   I have been waiting for over a year now and it's just around the corner!

If you haven't heard of her, (that seems almost impossible,) you can visit her blog to see her brayering techniques and the awesome cards she makes.

If you missed reading about the Salem  Zindorf workshop, earlier on my blog, you can visit this link and find out all the information on the upcoming workshop to be held May 14 and 15th, 2010.

It's not too late to sign up, but there are only a few spots left so I would advise doing it soon!

Come and learn a new technique, get some fabulous stamps and have a great day stamping and enjoying the company of other stampers.

I plan on going for the entire weekend and not only enjoying my time with Michelle, but shopping too and just having some girl time with other friends!!

You can spend the weekend or just come for the day.  We do have a block of rooms set aside for those that come in for the night or weekend...so be sure to mention the Zindorf Workshop when you book your room.

It's going to be so much fun!!!  Hope to see you there!!

Hugs,

Char

A couple of Easter Cards

I haven't been quite as busy making cards as I would like to be but I did get a few made this past couple of weeks.

I am headed to Stamp Club in about 15 minutes so thought I would share a couple of these cards before I leave.

This first one is a Waterfall card.  I used the set "I Love Easter" from TAC.  

The second card is a card I made using the Floppsy Bunny set that is a Vintage set for March.   I found some cute bunny paper (Non TAC) and used that along with some pink cardstock.  

Now....onto some Spring cards...and hopefully, I'll get some ideas at Stamp Club today.

Have a fantastic Weekend!!

Hugs,

Char

Oh what a fantastic trip to Pennsylvania

Last month, I had the privilege of flying back to Pennsylvania to attend my Cousin's 75th birthday party. 

My Sister and I left on Wednesday February 17th and returned on the 24th.  What a wonderful, fun filled week.

Our Cousins, Dorothy and Kathy picked us up at BWI in Baltimore, MD (Photo is us flying into Baltimore) and swept us away to Chincoteague Island for a couple of days.  WOW....if you have ever read or seen the movie "Misty of Chincoteague" that is where we stayed.  What a gorgeous spot on the earth.

We had so much fun walking the beach on Assateague and gathering SHELLS!!!  

I mean these shells were WHOLE....not like on the northern Pacific coast where they are broken.  You could walk and pick up shells for hours and hours and hours.  Which we did!!  We even ran out into the surf to get a few conch shells.

Here is one of the Conch shells I got. I think I must have gotten 10 conch shells in different shades of colors.  They were beautiful.

Here is another type shell...can't' remember the name of this one.

And, these black shells

Oh and these shiny shells.   What fun we had picking up all these different shells.

 

 

I have tons more photos of shells, but you get the picture.  :-)

After our two day stay at Chincoteague and Assateague, we headed back up to York, PA where we stayed the rest of our week.

Saturday was the party and oh what fun!!!  My Cousin's daughter knows how to plan a party! The food was excellent and the grand finale' was her giving her Mom a cruise to the Bahamas.  Here is a photo of my Cousin, her daughter, Kathy and Kathy's three kids.

On Sunday, they took us to Gettysburg!!  OH MY GOSH....even with the snow....it was awesome! I definitely HAVE to go back there so I can walk it next time.  We did the driving tour and got out a few times for photo ops.....and the weather that day was excellent!!!   In fact, we had great weather the entire time we were there....but heard they got another storm that came in the day we left.  Whew...perfect timing.  We even found a cool scrapbook store in Gettysburg.  It was worth the trip, believe me.

This is the view from a tower, 8 flights up, of the countryside.  Isn't it beautiful!

Monday we went to Lancaster and had a blast!!!  I have been there before when they were starting to farm and it was so neat to see.....and I hope to go back again at another season.  We had a great time there.  Did a little shopping and had lunch.

Tuesday, I visited a stamp store in York with a friend from Mechanicsburg, PA.  We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves.  Then, it was back to my Cousin's to leave to visit our family for the afternoon.

They took us to a steak house that two of the younger cousins work at.  The Roadhouse Steakhouse.  YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!  Then we went to the Christmas Tree Store and shopped.  Then, back to my Cousin's house to visit and watch a movie.  When we finally got back to my older Cousin's house...it was after 11pm and I still had to pack and get all those shells in my luggage.

I got to bed at 12am and was up at 3am to get ready for our flight back home.

We flew home that morning, exhausted, with tons of memories, shells and a resolution not to wait 14 years to return.

And, one last shell to share

Have a great weekend!!!

Hugs,

Char

Spring is HERE

YEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!   Tomorrow is the first day of SPRING!!!!  It's been gorgeous weather here the last few days albeit very cold in the mornings.

Wow....it's been a little over a month since I last posted.  A LOT has gone on this past month!  

If you remember my last post was about One World, One Heart.  I had drawn a winner and then left for my week in Pennsylvania.  She hadn't replied by the time I returned, so I sent her another e-mail when I got home and we made contact.  I am working on her flip flop book!

And, I won four drawings.  

One was a fantastic hanging Calendar by Candy Barnett.

Here is the Calendar.  Isn't it awesome??? Hmmm, wonder if she will refill it when next year rolls around?? LOL

Another is the beautiful tissue wall hanging from Lori at Raspberries and Rose Petals The Tissue hanging is absolutely gorgeous!!  The post office didn't treat it too well, so I copied the photo from her blog.  You have to check out her blog...it's great!!!

Another was a gorgeous pendant from Susie Kline at Kline Art Studio, (the link seems to be an old one so I can't include it).  

And, lastly a tatted lip balm holder from Aileen at Wickedtats.  I haven't received the lip balm holder, yet, but I know that is being made and will be sent when finished.  I'll have to take a photo of it when it gets here. 

I feel very blessed to have won such awesome drawings!!

The best thing about One World One Heart, tho, is getting to visit over 1,000 blogs and meeting new bloggers.  There is definitely a LOT going on out there in the crafting/art world.

Stay tuned....I'll bring you up to speed on my vacation.

Have a great day,

Char

OWOH Winner!!!

Today is the day!!!!! The Magical Ride is over....but what a ride it was!!!  How fun to get to meet so many people from all over the world!!  So much talent...and so many creative blogs.

My hubby drew the winner, this morning, from the 226 entries!!!  The winner is:

*************************************************************************

Sharon MLS said....

Thanks for stopping by and introducing yourself! I'd love to enter you giveaway. :-)

**************************************************************************

She was #101 on the list.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog and entered my OWOH drawing!  This was such a fun event and I hope we get to do it again, next year.

I have contacted Sharon and will wait till tomorrow night....if I don't hear back from her, I will draw another name.

Hugs,

Char

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!  

Hope you have a wonderful day doing whatever it is that makes you happy!!!

We are going to church and then will come home and watch the Winter Olympics!  

It was awesome to see Apollo Ono come in second, last night, in the finals for speed skating!!!  Way to go Apollo!!!!

My heart and prayers go out to the family, friends and fellow Olympians of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian Olympian Luge Slider who died yesterday during a training run. He was just 21 years old.

My prayers are with all the athletes!!!  

Char

Busy, Busy, Busy

 

 

I have been busy riding the Magic Carpet visiting over 1,000 blogs and it's been fun, interesting and very informative!   Wow, there are so many talented people in this world!

I have also been busy getting ready to go to Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks to visit my Cousin who will be 75 the end of this month.  Her daughter booked a flight so that I could attend.  I am just so excited.

Now, I am working on a Flip Flop album to give to my Cousin.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find VIOLETS in the scrap booking world?  Well, at least for me, it is.  

Thanks to some fabulous stamping friends, I have acquired the use of a Violet rubber stamp, some artificial Violets, some stamped images and some violet colored flowers with pearls in the center. They are turning out to be JUST what I needed.   If I could have found some designer paper with Violets, I would have been ecstatic...but time is running out.

So, here is the start of my album...and hopefully, when I get it finished.....I can post the results.  I keep changing my mind....first it was blue...then I decided on lavender.  I am working on some hearts that I will attach on the pages inside.  IF I decide I like them.  Hopefully, I'll have this finished in a couple of weeks.  :-)

Have a fun Super Bowl Sunday.....I'll probably watch while I am working on my album!

Char

One World One Heart 2010 Magic Carpet Ride

The One World One Heart blogging event is off and running again. The is my second year to participate and it's so much fun!

This year's theme is a magical Carpet Ride and I hope you come along for the fun!!

This event is open to everyone but in order to leave a comment, you must have a blog and you must leave an e-mail or have a link to your e-mail on your blog so that I can reach you in the event that you win.

This year's event ends February 15th. I will announce the winner on that day.

My contribution is one of my Flip Flop books. It is a small scrapbook that you can add photos of a special event to either keep for yourself or give as a gift.

Here is a photo of one I did last year.

This year's book will be the same except with different designer papers and card stock. The winner will get to choose her favorite colors and I will try hard to use the colors that are chosen but will be limited to stock on hand.

So, who is ready to jump on the magic carpet and go for a fun filled ride??

I know I am!!!

Have a great day and good luck everyone! I am so excited to get to meet each and every one of you and will be visiting your blogs in return.


Hugs,
Char

Come on Spring

Hi,

I don't know about you but I am just about tired of Winter and all of it's weather. We sure haven't had it as bad as some but I am so ready for some blue skies.

I said I would share the card my Sister made for her Christmas cards when I got a photo taken. Here it is.

I thought she did a great job and even added Stickles to give it a little more Pizazz!! A lot of work went into these cards.



Now, we are onto Valentine's Day cards. I have made a few and here are some I did with some friends last week.

I did this one using TAC's More Mimi Designer paper, Scarlet card stock and a couple of Valentine dollar stamps from Michael's.










This was the card that Richard came up with. The inside is just as good! He's just having way too much fun with the Cuttlebug and folders :-)






Judy's Creation is this orange and black themed card. I love the black gingham!


I made a very simple card using some one's heart stamp, white card stock, and Scarlet card stock. Of course, I had to add Stickles.

I like that we came up with some cards that aren't the normal Valentine's colors. It was fun!

Merry Christmas

Just wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!

I have a CAMERA

I am so excited!!!! I went to a stamp club luncheon, yesterday and while we were visiting, I happened to mention that I had dropped and broke my digital camera. One of the gals asked if I needed a camera and I said yes, I'd probably get one in a few months.

She said, "NO...do you NEED one?". I said, "Yes, I do, I use one all the time". She got up...went home and got a camera and gave it to me. She said she had two and had been trying to give this one away and no one needed it.

I am so excited....oh I said that....well, I AM!!!

It's a Sony Cyber-shot. It's about two years old....but it's AWESOME! I don't have a manual or anything with it...so will have to go online and read up on it to find out how to use it.

Now, I can take photos and post them!! I just need to get a USB cable so I can connect with my computer and I am off and running.

WHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Thank you Lord!!!!

Hugs,
Char

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

How's that for an opening??

Well, still no camera and my friend forgot his camera the other day when we got together so can't post photos. But, I got to thinking......I can still 'Communicate'. I am not really good at describing cards but I can talk about other things until a camera magically appears.

One of the things I have been wondering about is HOW much does paper crafting/stamping play a part of your Christmas holidays? Or, whatever holiday your family celebrates.

Do you make all your cards? How about decorations, place setting cards, gift wrap, tags, gift bags? What are some other ideas you have come up with?

I would love to hear what you do in the way of rubber stamping and or paper crafting.....for the holidays.

This year, I made some adorable Santa Pants to give to friends and family. I filled them with candies and a little gift. As soon as I can, I'll post a photo and the directions. I got the idea from my little buddy, Rita Holmes, who got it from someone else.....and so on and so forth....you get the idea.

Another yearly favorite things to do is to give Snowman Soup to those that you want to give a little gift to such as the mail lady, beautician etc.

I just find cute snowman mugs at the Dollar Tree, Wal Mart....for $1 or so.....fill it with one pkg of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate (which is on sale almost everywhere right now), a few Hershey Kisses, a little packet of mini marshmallows and a candy cane as a stirrer stick. I wrap it with cellophane and tie it with ribbon. You can make a little gift card to go with it explaining about Snowman Soup. You can find some poems here.

So, now it's YOUR turn!!

Hugs,
Char

18 Days till Christmas

But, who's counting??

The tree is up and decorated, the house is decorated and now all that is left to do are the cards and gift wrapping....which will be easy since most everyone is getting either money or GC's.

Actually, I already started my cards but then got side tracked by getting ready for a 5K walk on Saturday. Now that is over, I can concentrate on my cards and a few Christmas parties that I have to attend. Well, I don't HAVE to....but you know.....

I am also still collecting fun ideas to do with my Granddaughter while she is here over Christmas vacation.

My Sister came on Friday and I helped her get her cards started. She is doing a version of a card I had sent her last year.

She is doing hers on Purple card stock with different colored trees. They are going to be really elegant! If I have a camera when she finishes them, I'll take a photo of one of them.

These are super easy to do....just take a lot of folding!

Wednesday is another stamping get together and then Saturday is a Christmas stamping get together....oh the fun continues!!!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Hugs,
Char

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Even in saying that, I know that holidays can be the most stressful time of year.

Things that happen during the holidays seem magnified and the drama can be more intense. I am sure you can all relate to some extent.

We decided that this year, we would spend our Thanksgiving at home. We were invited to family and friends, but we just really felt the need to stay at home. We had a nice, small turkey dinner for just the two of us around 1pm and then took a 2 mile walk with our dog enjoying the 'spring like' weather.

Later that evening, we were invited to some friends to celebrate a birthday. That was fun! We hadn't planned on going anywhere....but finally gave in :-)

Talked with some family members and friends on the phone and just were truly thankful for the many blessings in our lives. We all have stress and worries especially during this economy but it doesn't take much to find blessings all around us if we just take the time to stop and count them.

Hopefully, this weekend, after we get our tree up......I can sit and make some cards. My friend promised to take some photos again! I sure miss my camera!!! :-(

Have a great day and if any of you go shopping today....be careful....and hope you find some great bargains!!

Christmas decorating can now officially begin!!

Char

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, not quite yet....but I have been playing with different ideas for cards for different holidays using punches.

I used the Autumn Cuttlebug embossing folder and DCWV card stock for the base.

I used the Marvy Circle and Scalloped Circle punches to make the base and his tail feathers and even his gobbler and feet.

I love doing punched art....and am trying to come up with ideas for every holiday using the punches we carry in our TAC catalog.

Once again....no stamping....but hey....it's called Papercrafting!!! I love it!!!
And, I did stamp something on the inside.