Ginger or MaryAnn?

If you don’t know what that means, just enjoy the card!  If you DO know what I am talking about–this card is a tribute to MaryAnn.  I know that she might not have been the most popular bachelorette on that “Isle” but she surely would have outlasted Ginger!   She could do ANYTHING!  She managed a new type of pie nearly every episode!   I have a full stocked kitchen, great baking genes, and about 8 years of 4H behind me….and I struggle to make a pie!

In any case, when I saw this stamp set, Kind and Cozy, it reminded me of MaryAnn Summers (that was her last name–click here to learn way more than you thought you could know about MaryAnn!).  What do you think?

Previously, my go-to color was Pool Party…but I have added another color to my “go to” pile—Coastal Cabana.   I even sing it when I grab it from the pile…..”Coastal…..Coastal Cabana……hottest ink north of Havana!”   (again–if you have no idea what I am talking about, just enjoy the card.   If you do know what I am talking about, don’t judge me!).   Love the combo of Crumb Cake, Real Red and Coastal Cabana!

So–I ask you today—if you were stuck on an island for say 2 years, which stamps would you want?

Stamps :  Kind And Cozy, Positively Cheveron, Gingham Wheel

Ink and CS:  Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake

Other:  2 1/2″ Circle, Small Heart Punch, Real Red 1/” stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Adoring Accents Edgelits., Big Shot

Catalog Kick Off and Paper Bows!

Here is some of what awaits you tomorrow at the Buy One Get One FREE Catalog Kick Off:

and this:

Here is a close up of the paper bow book marks:

I have most of the stamp sets, Big Shot Accessories, Punches and Ribbon set up.  Still have to get the Make & Takes ready along with the goodies for new and returning Club Members. If you have any questions about becoming a club member, happy to answer you.

I also will have information about Product Shares from the new catalog.  If you can’t make it tomorrow but have questions or are interested in Product Shares, let me know.

If you are in the Norton area, please stop by!  The Buy One Get One Free deal is the best of the year.  And there is a lot of great stuff here!  Honestly, as I was setting up I kept saying to my myself (but aloud), ” I remember this stamp set!  I LOVED this stamp set!”.   I know you will too!   I have some extra supplies so if you haven’t RSVP’d~~”NP”  (That is “No Problem” for those of you that don’t speak “text”).

Betty’s Buy One Get One Free Catalog Kick Off

4 Eileen Road, Norton, MA

Saturday June 15th–10am-1 pm

See you here!

Zoo Babies and other Wildlife Stories

Do you know what happens to baby robins when they leave the nest?    The LEAVE the nest!

No, “I am going now.  Thanks for the accommodations!”.

No, “I am going to try out these wings.  I will be back later!”

No, “You are not the boss of me!  I am out of here!”

They just LEAVE!

You know I love birds!  They make me happy—even the photo of the angry   Bluebird!

Well, we have these (nasty) holly bushes in the front of our house which are great for making nests, apparently.  We have had 2 robins (or one robin who build two nests) build nests in there over the past 2 years.  The bushes are really picky so it is difficult to get into—which is why you want to raise your family there.  Think of it as a “gated community” for birds.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago 3 robins hatched.  The nest was so far in the holly…and the bush so very picky that I couldn’t get a good look at their development BUT over the past week, I have watched them grow…..quickly… and a LOT!  I know that mother bird was thinking, “Listen—it is time for you to “spread your wings” and leave the nest—-Go get a job, for Pete’s sake!”…..and then it happened.  They left the nest—all 3 of them!  They were there yesterday morning and looking like they might want to try to fly….and chirping a lot about it…..but I had things to do and couldn’t watch them all day.  Well, when I checked in about noonish….they were gone!  AND I was not the only one surprised!  Momma came back with a mouth full of worms to share and she looked a little shocked that they left too!

But here is the strange thing, to me.   They never came back!  I don’t speak “Robin” so I don’t know if there was a big blow out when they left but I sort of expected they would come back….But they didn’t!

SOOOOOOO–the moral of the story is your kids will leave some day….and might not come back!  Enjoy them a little more today!   BUT—know if they don’t come back—YOU get to eat all the worms!!!

OK–on to today’s post:

I was heavily inspired by (and by that, I mean I totally copied) someone else’s card BUT—I don’t remember who.  Sorry!  In any case, this card uses the new In Color Designer Series Packs, Zoo Babies, and the Peekaboo Frames for the Big Shot.   Inside it says, “So happy to hear about your new monkey…..just know some day your monkey WILL leave…and maybe never come back!”

Kidding!!  (That would disturb a new parent, eh?!)

Ok–finally—I so hope you are planning on coming to my Catalog Kick Off , Buy One GEt One Free on Saturday.  I have been working on your make and takes as well as moving the 4 BINS of stamps (which doesn’t even include the accessories!) out to the garage for set up!  Tell me you can make it.  Check out the details here.

And remember–all current and NEW  club members who show up on Saturday get a special goody!

See you then!

Monday Morning Coffee!

Phew–we made it!  4 birthdays in 6 days!  There was a lot of scrambling (not going to lie), lot of wrapping, little stress and and a LOT of frosting!  As it should be!  Now back to our regularly scheduled lives!

This weekend is my annual BuyOne  Get One Free, Catalog Kick Off Celebration.  I transform my garage into a store for the day, and have sets ups for some fun Make & Takes using great new products from our FAB new catalog (please let me know if you can make it so that I have supplies ready for you)……but I haven’t quite started cleaning up the garage yet…..Hence the coffee!!!

I am participating in a swap (due out on Saturday, I might add) with some new products from the Stampin’ Up! Catalog.  When I saw this coffee cup–I knew it would be mine!  And it is!!  I started messing around with this last week (instead of cleaning the garage) and came up with this swap card.  Shockingly–there is no Big Shotting required!   This is going to me my swap card! …as soon as I get the images cut out….and the garage cleaned….OY!  I need more coffee!!

Tip:  Because the Epic Day paper has a distressed look to it, I sponged the edges of the card stock so that it wasn’t “stark”.

Hope you can make it on Saturday—at the very least to see the clean garage!!

Supplies:

Stamp Set:  Perfect Blend

Ink:  Stayzon Jet Black, Crumb Cake (sponged)

Paper:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake,  Whisper White, Epic Day This and That

Other:  2 1/2″ Circle Punch, Linen Thread

Simplicity and a LOT of Bitty Butterflies!

Frosting Fest continues.  It is birthday week at my house —lots of frosting, lots of cards.   AND–I received some new goodies from Stampin’ Up! that I am playing with instead of cleaning my garage for my Catalog Kick Off, Buy One Get One Free Sale next week (click here for details).  I promise to show some samples soon and there will be LOTS to see at the above mentioned Open House.  Hope you can make it.

But for today’s post, I wanted to share with you this:

Click on photo for larger image.

All you really need is the Bitty Butterfly punch and a LOT of dimensionals.   This card could also be altered with hearts for the perfect wedding card.   Circles in someone’s favorite colors would be a sweet birthday card.   Go check out your stash of punches and let me know what you come up with.

In the meantime, let me know if you need dimensionals….or anything else for that matter!  Hope to see you at the Open House!

Supplies:

Paper and ink:  Whisper White and Soft Sky

Stamp Set:   Thoughts and Prayers

Others:  Bitty Butterfly Punch, Organza Ribbon,  Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

Celebrate with Chalk Talk!

It is birthday week in this house!  We celebrate all 4 birthdays in 6 days.  It is kind of like Christmas here.  But with less cards.   In any case, I apologize for not updating until this point—-retiring list, new catalog, pre order, birthdays, open house (June 15th!  10 am- 1 pm!)…..it is enough to make a girl crazy!

Ok–so here is a card with a brand new set called Chalk Talk!  LOVE the set!  FUN!

You are going to LOVE these new In Colors!  They go so well together to create a fresh, summer look but they also pair well with other standard colors for a class look!  Stay tuned for more color combos in the coming weeks.   I haven’t received my color coach yet so I am playing with colors  all by myself!!!    You should try it!

So for this card, I didn’t have the new In Color markers to use.  Instead, I squished the top of the ink pad cover to create a little puddle of ink when you open it up.  Then I used my Aqua Painters to add the color to the balloons and the “banner”.

(Tip:  Go light with the Aqua Painter…..not too much water or ink!)

Ok–Don’t forget about my Buy One Get One Free Catalog Kick Off on June 15th where I will have this along with lots of other samples for you!  Hope you can make it!

Stop by my website for any stampin’ needs.

Stamp Set: Chalk Talk

Colors:   Crisp Cataloupe, Pistacio Pudding, Coasta Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Baked Brown Sugar, StazOn Jet Black

Other:  Big Shot, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Aqua Painter

It is HERE!! 2013-14 Stampin’ Up! Catalog!

This is the cover of the new catalog!!!!!  It goes live today at 2 pm our time (East Coast).  You are going to LOVE the catalog.  My favorite thing about it is the color…and the samples….and the accessories…oh yeah–the stamps are great too!

I promise to post some samples of things I have the chance to play with prior to the catalog being released.  We, as demonstrators, could pre-order a few items….but as of 2 pm today, the sky is the limit!  I can get my hands on everything in the new catalog!   And you can too!  If you need a catalog of your very own, let me know.   Or better yet, plan on coming to my Catalog Kick Off on June 15th!  You can find details here.

So check this out:  Stampin’ Up! has just announced a special, 25% off on three  greeting sets until  the end of  June!!!  You don’t want to miss this.   I can strongly recommend Perfect Pairs!!!!   I like the others as well but Petite Pairs is a definate “Go-To” set for me!

Below are the details.  Feel free to go shopping here after 2 pm or sign up for my Open House where you can see, touch, and play with some of the fantastic new products Stampin’ Up has just released!

Sale Price	Retail Price	Description	Item
$17.96	$23.95	Sassy Salutations Wood-Mount Stamp Set	132070
$13.46	$17.95	Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set	126707
$14.96	$19.95	Sweet Essentials Wood-Mount Stamp Set	132085
$11.21	$14.95	Sweet Essentials Clear-Mount Stamp Set	126457
$21.71	$28.95	Petite Pairs Wood-Mount Stamp Set	128706
$15.71	$20.95	Petite Pairs Clear-Mount Stamp Set	122497

It is good to know talented people!

Designed by Sam Cox

Last Sunday was my anniversary and I received a couple of fantastic cards…..Truth be told, they were better than the card I gave to my hubby!  This one was made by my downline member, Sam.  She used a LOT of dimensionals and the card is just gorgeous!  PLUS she “fussy cut” the flowers TWO times!! Not kidding!  I wish you could see it in real life!  The stamp set she used is the soon to be retired Bordering On Romance set with the Fabulous Phrases words.   Her color combo, Island Indigo, Celery, and Basic Grey—perfect!!   Thanks so much, Sam!

This card is from my downline, Sandy!

Designed by Sandra Amoling

 

Sandy used the En Francais stamp set (which apparently says something about a garden….too much for my 4 years of high school French!) and the Best of Flowers stamp set.  She used some fun accessories—the Paper Doilie which she sponged (??Primrose Petals) and the delicious and, sadly, retiring 2 tone pink ribbon.   Stunning card!!  Thanks, Sandy!!

 

It is good to know talented people!!

Should you be interested in ordering anything that is retiring, scoot over to my website NOW!!

Stamps:  Bordering on Romance, Best of Flowers, En Francais, Fabulous Phrases

Other goodies:  Labels Collection Framelits, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Two Tone Ribbon, Paper Doilie

Buy One Get One FREE, Make & Takes, Goodies, Treats! Not to be missed!

I will be leaving this on the front page of my blog for now. To see updated posts, please click BLOG on the right of the screen.

June 15th–10 am- 1 pm my garage at 4 Eileen Rd, Norton, MA  becomes a stamp haven!

I will have hundreds of retired stamps and accessories all ready for you to shop!  And the more you shop, the more you get back FREE!  You will earn credit to spend in the new catalog (which I will have here for you if you don’t already own it!)

Everybody is welcome so please bring your crafty friend—you know the one I am talking about—-yeah–HER!

Just let me know you are coming so that I will have your Make & Take supplies ready for you!

Teacher Gifts

or in this case….Parent Gifts!

It is that time of the year when you start thinking of those you appreciate for all they have done over the past school year.  It could be a teacher, an aide, a bus driver, the lunch lady or , in this case, the parents who volunteer in the school library!   My friend, queen of the do-gooders, is the coordinator for one of the elementary school libraries.  YEARS ago, the funding  for the libraries was cut so a group of parent volunteers stepped up…and continue to do so.   My friend asked me for a little thank you for the parents.   Immediately, I googled, “Cutest Gift Ever” (ok–not really….but I googled something ) and found  this:

The original idea came from Mary Fish and you can see her post here.   I did alter the project slightly just to give some more leeway to slip off the belly band.   My belly band was 2 x 8″ and scored at 1 5/8″, 2 3/8″, 5 1/2″ and 6 1/4″.

 So here is what a BUNCH of them look like:’

This paper was from this past Sale A  Bration but you can see that any pack of coordinating paper would work.   And I can I tell you?  I have seen some of the new paper coming and you are going to LOVE it—whether you like vintage or fun, classy or cool—There is paper for you!!   If you haven’t gotten your copy of the new catalog, give me a holler.

And check out  my Catalog Kick Off  coming on June 15ht!!thto Shop from the Old, Order the New, see lots of samples, stamp,eat, and be merry!

Thanks for stopping by.

Stamp Set and Framelit:  Itty Bitty Banners and Bitty Banners

Paper and Accessories:  Sycamore Street (SaleABration 2013)