Summer Sunshine

If you read my last post, you'd know how I'm kind of in love with Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes right now. At that time I just tried the Strawberry cupcake and it was fabulous! Well, today I tried the Orange Creamsicle cupcake and OH MY GOSH--that was out of this world!

Y'know how different seasons have their "flavors"? Like Winter/Christmas is Peppermint or Warm Cinnamon. Fall could be Pumpkin or Warm Apple. Well Summer is Citrus to me and that's what the Orange Creamsicle Cupcake was like--SUMMER!

So I decided to pull out an old stampset that hasn't had much love lately and thought some of the new In-Colors could pull off a "Citrus-y" kind of mood. Yummy Sweet and Super Easy!
I used the new Modern Label Punch for the sentiment and the Scallop Edge Punch that's on sale right now. Tied up a little polka-dot ribbon to finish it off.

All Card Material Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Crushed Curry (115319) Dusty Durango (115321)
Whisper White (100730)
Ink: Crushed Curry (115659) Dusty Durango (115654)
Stampset: Tart&Tangy (111514 $12.95) Teeny Tiny Wishes (New! 115370 $36.95)
Accessories: Crushed Curry 1/2" Polka-dot grosgrain ribbon (New! 115614 $9.95) Modern Label Punch (New! 116630 $15.95)
Scallop Edge Punch (112091 normally $15.95, on sale until 7/5 for $10.99!)

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

It all started with some fun chatter between a few of us on Facebook (FB). My brother Dave had to send his Xbox to the manufacturer to get fixed so he was telling us how bored he was without his video-games. He was really bored. So I told him he should make cupcakes and bring them over. BTW, he's a very good cook. Well, needless to say, I've had cupcakes on the brain for a few days and since I've had some free time, well, I think this card speaks for itself. :)

This cupcake stampset was around since the last catalog, but I think the new Melon Mambo DSP gives it a fresh makeover. Don't they just look so sweet?

It's Independence Day here today, so many people are enjoying many of the festivities in the area. I went out for lunch with the aforementioned Dave and well, just like Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we "are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."



Well, today I did pursue something that made me happy...Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes. Sweet Mandy B's is a wonderful bakery in Lincoln Park and I've wanted to visit for so long. Well, folks, what can I say? It was totally worth the wait!!! (and so worth the extra workout I did in anticipation of these beauties!) If anyone wants to go visit, give me a call, I'll even drive! Have a great day everyone!



This is (was) a strawberry cupcake--DELISH!

All material for card is Stampin' Up
Stampset: Crazy for Cupcakes (111618 pg 168)
Cardstock: Melon Mambo (115320 pg 155), Whisper White (100730 pg 155) Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (115675 pg 162)
Ink: Black Stazon (101406 pg 190), Melon Mambo (115320 pg 155)

Markers: Chocolate Chip (100071), Close to Cocoa (100072), Creamy Caramel (100078), Real Red (100052) all on page 156
Accessories: 1/2" Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115611 pg 182) Blender pen (used to color the frosting with Melon Mambo) 102845 p6192

This Site is Under Construction....

Hi Folks! No, this site is not under construction but it feels like my schedule has been under construction for the past 2-3 weeks! Busy Busy Busy--that's me! But one thing we can always count on is the wonderful items Stampin' Up! puts out in every catalog! This year is no different. Lovely items and Yummy new In-colors! Click on the link to the right to view the online catalog!

I had a raffle to win an InColor Sampler and Congrats once again to Evelyn S! But for the month of July, Stampin' Up has a wonderful sale every week! Sign up for my blog updates or check back here every week to find out what goodies are on SALE! It's their DEAL OF THE WEEK!

To inaugurate the new catalog, there will be another MsMannersstamping special raffle. I'm still getting the particulars together so stay tuned!

So here's the current Stampin' Up! Deal of the Week:

30% off the Scallop Edge Punch (112091)
Normally priced at $15.95, but from July 1-July5 you can purchase it for just $10.99




Take Care everyone! It's going to be a fun but busy 4th of July weekend but I should have some cards up in a while AND the particulars of my new raffle--it's going to be awesome!

A Card, A Blog and a Coach Purse

Hi Folks! I haven't had much time to stamp lately...things have been such a blur that I'm barely keeping up with anything. I made this card a few weeks ago at Nuthouse and just now finally getting to share it with you. There's absolutely NO Stamping done on this card. This card took "minutes" with the help of my BIG SHOT and hole puncher! Now I just have to make a card with matching shoes!

The material used is all Stampin' Up.

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette (tag), Confetti White (card) Tea Party DSP (card base) Sweet Always DSP (purse)
Top Note Big Shot Die (113463) Was used to make the purse. I just folded down the top to make the "Flap"
I used the large brad from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (111325) for the "snap" on the flap.

The ribbon "handle" is Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon (111366)

And the tag is tied to the handle with the Natural Hemp Twine (100982)

I wanted to share a blog that I found via Twitter. It's called A Purse Full of Cheerios. Take a visit over there and check it out. It's a gorgeous blog--Great pictures and information. AND lots of giveaways! Right now she's giving away a COACH PURSE! (um drool much?) So Thank You Sylvia! You do wonderful work and I'm glad I found your blog!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Manic Monday Sketch for a Wednesday

Monday's Challenge over at 365 Cards was a color challenge. The colors to be used were the BOLD shades of RED, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, and ORANGE. No Pastels. Um, Wow.
It's no secret with my stampin' pals that I'm really not a fan of those colors. They're all in the BOLD BRIGHTS family in the Stampin' Up! universe and I hardly uses those colors in. I really should try to incorporate them more and become less of a boldbright-a-phobe. I'm more Earth Elements really.

But here's my take on the challenge:

I used my BIG SHOT to get emboss the white panel with the little swirls and flowers to give a little texture to the card and it helps soften the brightness of the colors a little

Here's a better look at the embossed images. I popped all the hearts on dimensional adhesive to add to some "texture" as well.

Huh, well wouldn't you know. As I write this blog post, the sun is coming out and the sky is really blue--we really need some sun here in Chi-town. People are really grumpy when the weather is nothing by gray and gloom for several days. We should all make some bright cards!

Have a Bright Day everyone!

All material Stampin' Up!
StampSet: (for the sentiment) Pocket Silhouettes (111672, $18.95)
Cardstock: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Only Orange, Yoyo Yellow, Glorious Green, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Real Red 1/4" Grossgrain Ribbon, Large Oval Punch (107305, $15.95), Scallop Oval Punch (114889 $15.95) Heart to Heart Punch (113694, $15.95--it punches all 3 heart sizes)
SU! Backgrounds 1 Textures Plates (114512, $11.95), Big Shot Die Cut Machine.

Day 99 Super Sketchy Challenge and How I Lost My Head

Hi Folks! I've been "blog-stalking" the 365 Cards blog for a couple of weeks now and finally found some time to play! Well, I really wanted to play last weeks challenges and copied all the sketches and wrote down the color combinations and off I went to Nuthouse to play with my Stampin' pals. Of course, I brought all my material and FORGOT to bring the sketches. Bummer. So I had to make cards from scratch without any guidance. hahaha. There are worse things, like forgetting the Cardstock! (which I've never done thank goodness)

Well, here's the first challenge for the week. To make a card with this layout.

Well, Here it is, What do you think? I needed to make a graduation card for a guy ASAP and I saw this die cut from the online Silhouette Site.

Here's where I lost my head...The Silhouette is really an awesome tool and I don't use it enough But as you can see the little guy's head is not attached. That's the way the die cut comes out-3 pieces, body, head and hat. So here I am happily assembling my card when I exclaim, "Where's my Head?". My mother heard me and a bit puzzled, "What?". Oops, nevermind Mom, I'm Ok, really.

Most annoying thing is when you want to put something (anything) together and you think you have all the tools and then because you're making a mess, nothing is where you need it. In this case my head (on the card and on my shoulders). I didn't have to cut another one out, I did find it stuck to the back of the card.

Here's the side view so you can see the crinkled paper--to look like curtains I thought.

Have a Great Day Folks and watch out for you head!

All material Stampin' Up! except for the image--die cut from Silhouette Tool
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Urban Oasis DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red
Stampset: Celebrate Everything (114942 $18.95)
Accessories: Paper Crimper, Dimensional Adhesive

Big Shot Butterflies

It took me a while to embrace the whole "Big Shot" thing. (Not familiar with the Big Shot? Click HERE to see a demo!) But now I'm wondering why it did take me so long! I love paper and cardstock and using the Big Shot is a great way to incorporate paper elements into different projects. I'm so sad that this Urban Garden DSP is going away. I hope SU! knows that I'm expecting to see some gorgeous paper replacements in the new catalog! hahaha.


This sentiment was from one of the 2009 Sell-a-bration Sets and I thought it would be perfect for a retirement card.

Here's the same idea, just using a different paper for the background and stamping right on the card instead of a tag.


Who inspires you? My only challenge to you is to send a note/card or even an email to whomever it is that inspires you! We need more random acts of kindness in this world. :)
Have a great day everyone!

All material used is Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Card 1--Basic Gray, Going Gray, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden DSP--used for background and the small butterfly layer.
Card 2--Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden DSP for small butterfly layer, Urban Oasis DSP for the background.
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot Die (114507), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Tweet Tweet Y'all!

First I want to say to Donna, I hope these birds aren't too freaky for you! :)
Hi folks! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was so busy but A LOT of fun. I think it kicked off the start of my "party circuit" for the summer!
Between Glenda's Nuthouse, a graduation party, a baptism, Chicago's Printer's Row Lit Fest and an impromptu dash around Chinatown, it's amazing how much a person can squeeze into a weekend. What's more amazing is that I'm up on time today too!

There are so many places and things where you can find inspiration for any project whether its cards, scrapbooking, writing... I bet you can't guess where my inspiration comes from for these cards! So yes, have a laugh at me today folks--it's Twittertime!

Basic and simple stamping for these cards...no tricks, no special techniques. Sometimes the simpler the better, no? I love the crispness of the different blue hues in this card.

Ok folks, how can I get more cheeky than to use my laptop and Tweetdeck for the background! (I'm all about making you smile this morning!)

Time to grab some coffee and a bowl of cereal before logging into to work!
Tweet Tweet Y'all! Have a wonderful day!

Blue Card: All material Stampin' Up!
Stampset--Cheep Talk (113204)

Cardstock--Pacific Point, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink--Pacific Point ink pad, Chocolate Chip and Garden Green markers
Accessories--Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Horizontal Slot Punch, Dimensionals Adhesive.

Tweetdeck Card: All Material Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stampset--Cheep Talk (113204)
Cardstock--Confetti White, Very Vanilla, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink--More Mustard inkpad, Chocolate Chip inkpad and Chocolate Chip and Garden Green markers
Accessories--Build a Flower Bigz Die (113471) for the Big Shot, Tweet Flair is from American Crafts Fla!r

Last Chance Stamp Sets

Hi Folks!
I wanted to send a reminder that Stampin' Up! put out their "Last Chance" Stamp Set list.
As of June 30, these great sets will now be in "retirement".

We've also got to say good-bye to the current In-colors too! That includes all the accessories that use the current In-colors (Cardstock, Ink, Re-inkers, Designer Series Paper, Buttons, Ribbon, etc) I can't promise that any of the current In-colors accessories are going to be around until the end of June so just my SU! tip, get them now before they're gone!

Here are two links to see all the sets that we're waving good-bye to.
Alphabetical List

Numerical by page List

Of course, we can't just let these guys go without a SALE!

Here's a MsMannersstamping special!
For June only:
Order $50 of merchandise and you'll get entered to win a special In-color sample bundle from me (cardstock, ribbon, etc). I'm talking about the 2009-2010 In Colors! I've seen the new colors and once again, Stampin Up! will not disappoint us. I love the current In-colors, but the new ones are really yummy too! "Yummy" really is the right word to use--they're wonderful!

Here's a Stampin' Up Special!
Hostess Bonus Promotion--It Pays MORE to have FUN!Hostesses already get wonderful rewards and gifts when they host a party, but here's an awesome gift Stampin' Up is giving you when you host a party in JUNE!
It Pays (More) to Have Fun
From June 1-30, in addition to the already fantastic hostess benefits, get even more hostess awards when you host a qualifying workshop:

Hold a $250-$399.99 workshop and receive an additional $20 in hostess free dollars!
Hold a $400 or more workshop and receive an additional $40 in hostess free dollars!*

Wow, wow and WOW!
Contact me if you want to host a party or place an order!!!!

Have a great day!

Shopping

There is so much Stampin' Up! info on my blog that I don't really have to spell it out that I'm a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. Of course, if you need Stampin' Up! material, please order from me! hahaha. But honestly, when it comes to creating and designing for fun, I'm a total equal opportunity SHOPPER! I'm all about pretty and unique and fun--and if I see something cool--I'm going to share it with everyone!

Once again, I have to bring up Facebook. It's because of Facebook that I was able to reconnect with a highschool friend--Karen A. (I haven't seen her since graduation) And through FB, I learned that she loves to stamp and she works at Archiver's. Um, did you say Archiver's???
One of my favorite stores! I went to visit her over the weekend, and the great thing about knowing someone "behind the scenes" was that she showed me all her favorite supplies and card-making tools and I got to PLAY with them!




One of my new "must haves" is Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. It's this awesome spray pump mist that gives a sparkly shimmer to your projects. The cardstock is SU! Baja Breeze and by spraying it with Pearl Glimmer Mist, it gave the cardstock a sparkly sheen. Unfortunately, you can't really tell as much from the pic as you would in person. But if you know me, you can tell I love this product so I'm not going to steer you wrong! It comes in different colors too--I think the next one I'm going to get is Tiger Lilly. You should see it on chipboard!

The daisy border is also another cool product that she showed me. It's Fozz Felt from Kaiser scrapbook. It's self-adhesive, so once you measure how much you need, just peel off the backing and stick! I stamped a sentiment, added the butterfly and bling and ta-da--EASY card!


Here's another card I made (no Glimmer Mist this time) with the same basic idea. I'm totally loving my new buys! Thanks again to my pal Karen for my "behind the scenes" look!
Now if I just knew someone at Nordstroms so I can play with the shoes...

Have a great day everyone!

Card material:
Blue Card
SU! Baja Breeze Cardstock, Ink: SU! Basic Gray, Stampset: SU! Warm Words, Kaiserscrapbook Fozz Felt Daisy Border, Crystal Stickers in Clear. Unknown Butterfly Stamp.

Green Card
SU! Kiwi Kiss, Ink: SU! Basic Black, Stampset: SU! Warm Words, Kaiserscrapbook Fozz Felt Flower Power Fushia, Crystal Stickers in Clear.

Cutie Patootie Layout 2

Well lookie here, the ultimate procastinator (me!) made another page! I'm totally getting back into scrapbooking again! Well, don't expect a lot pages every day, but I do have tons of ideas--I just need to keep scheduling some time to keep churning them out!

If anyone wants to play, you're more than welcome to join me at Glenda's Nuthouse on Friday June 5th. Glenda--my SU director--rents out a conference room at the Courtyard in Wood Dale and brings ALL her stamps/inks/punches/Big Shot dies/scraps. For $15 you get pizza, a free make-n-take and use of all her "stuff"! Isn't that awesome! I always bring my projects to complete but I also take some time to look through her stampsets and play. What's also great is that you can see what other people are making--it's a great place to get inspiration! So if you're interested in joining me, just drop me a note so I can reserve a place for you at my table!

Here's a picture of Jack when he was just a puppy (12 years ago! I was still in my 20's, don't we look cute?) Yeah, I have several years of scrapbooking to catch up on--but I'm so excited to revisit those pictures and finally put them in a nice book. An important rule I keep hearing from other awesome scrappers is to just Scrapbook the pictures you absolutely LOVE. If you try to scrap ALL your pictures, you'll just go mad.

I'm trying to get better at Journal-ing too. Here, I used the outer circle not just for a page prop, but to journal as well.

I added some SU! die cut flowers from the same color family and some American Craft Flair Adhesive Badges for some dimensional color. I saw the Flair at a craft store. Random Item about me #57, I love the movie "Office Space". If you're a fan like me, how could I not pass up the flair badges, right?

Have a great day everyone!

All page material is SU unless otherwise noted:
Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Pacific Point
Die Cut flowers in Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss
American Craft Thickers Puffy Letters for the title and Flair adhesive badges

Memorial Day

US Servicemen/women past and present (and your families): May your service and sacrifice never be forgotten.

Paper Sale Reminder and a Cutie Patootie's Layout

Hi Folks! I myself am taking advantage of the Designer Series Paper sale at Stampin' Up! this month--it's still going on--buy 3 packs and get one pack free!

My Paper Club is still going on too--I just completed one club, but it's still not too late for you to participate--just need a group of 4 to complete each club! Let me break it down for you:

For $35, you'll get 2 6"x6" pieces (or one 6"x12" piece) of every single pattern of DSP from the following list:
Jackpot
Urban Garden
Bella Rose
Candy Lane
Bella Birds
Pink Flamingo
Manchester
Rainbow Sherbet
Good Morning Sunshine
Raspberry Tart
Sweet Always
Urban Oasis
Washington Apple
Bella Bleu
Flock Together
Tea Party

After May 31st though, the price for the paper club goes up to $48.

Now is the time to get these gorgeous papers before they're gone! And like all SU! material, it's all made using the same dye stock so our cardstock/ink/ribbon coordinate beautifully!

Just let me know if you want to "join the club!"

Here's a layout I created with my little buddy--my nephew Eddie!

If you follow my blog regularly, you would have seen these pictures already--they're from when me and my mom visited my Bro/SIL/nephew back in February.
Here's a better look at the page where I made the title out of glittered up chipboard letters and journaled a little bit about Eddie.
I love his face in this picture! This was a self-portrait, just stuck out the camera in front of me and shot the pic!


Yes Eddie, you are adorable! He wants YOU to get some paper! LOL.

Cheers all, have a wonderful day!

Layout paper is SU Urban Oasis DSP, Kiwi Kiss CS for picture mounts, Very Vanilla CS and Kiwi Kiss CS for the journaling and scallop ovals, Old Olive marker for journaling. Glittered Chipboard letters are Thickers from American Crafts.

I Scream, You Scream...

The weather's been off and on for us the past few weeks, but on sunny days we've been hearing the "Call of the Wild". In other words, the Ice Cream Truck. Everyone can hear it coming for miles, and they get so happy when they hear the melodic (but tinny) music from the truck. Even though I haven't bought any ice cream from a truck in years (4 years ago, Good Humor truck, Wrigleyville, Chi-town--that's a whole 'nother story) the music still makes me smile.

I just wanted to show the versatility of a prior card design and how by just changing the image, it's still a pretty simple card to make.



Alas, this is not a Stampin' Up stamp, but I could not pass it up when I found it at Paper Tales--a Stamp/Scrap store in San Diego. It's from A-muse (they have such cute stuff too!)

Hope you all have a Sweet Day!

Card pieces:
Stamp: Sentiment--Celebrate everything (SU!), Soft serve cone (Amuse)
Cardstock: (all SU!) Whisper White, Naturals Ivory
Ink: (SU!) Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Accessories: (SU!) Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Techniques: Sponging

I {Heart} Coffee 2!

Kind of funny that in my last post I had said that I wanted to design cards with less DSP and then I go right back to using it! Hahaha. To be honest, I bought this DSP just to use with this stamp set! I love this image too--kind of a "Leave-it-to-Beaver-let's-have-coffee-in-a-diner" feel to it!

Why am I obsessed with coffee? Probably because I don't make very good coffee--it's always too strong or too weak. I mess around with different kinds of coffees too--different flavors, different brands--so I always mess up the concentrations. Thank goodness K drinks tea AND he prefer tea bags over loose leaf so mornings are pretty easy.

Have a great day everyone!

All material Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Kraft, Whisper White, Urban Oasis DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa (used to paint the chipboard frame), Chocolate Chip for the image
Accessories: Chipboard Frame