Totally TURTLES

This morning I woke up to find a swarm of bees in my backyard. They ended up landing on a branch and settling down. Here's a picture I took but I think most of them flew off. I didn't think anything of it at first but my sister's birthday is on Sunday and I haven't made her card yet. As I thought about it I realized that this was a sign from Mom to get "bees-y" on that. Some of you don't know that my sister used to call our mom "Queen Bee". When Mom passed away a few years ago I noticed a bee outside my car as I was getting in. Then at Mom's apartment I noticed another bee flying around the entrance. Once we got to the church for the service there was another bee flying lazily around. I started to believe that this was Mom. I know that sounds weird but when you are grieving you latch on to strange things. I used to be very scared of bees but now I feel more comfortable when I see one. Thinking it's Mom makes them less scary. :) So I ...

Okay so I'm not a typical bag lady. But after going to convention I think Stampin' Up! ladies will be called that. Especially Mandy who got even more bags for Founders Circle. Here's a picture of the convention bag that everyone got. Inside was our stamp sets. They really spoiled us this year. We got a wheel and new stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog. We also got Just Believe from the big catalog. Plus a single stamp that says Thanks. Of course I also won some extra stamp sets. The new French Foliage from the Holiday Mini that will be out September 1. Plus everyone got glass glitter! I can't wait to show you all that. It's beautiful and big and chunky. Can you imagine a company that gives away so much to it's demos? I'm glad to be working for Stampin' Up! They ROCK! Oh I said I would post some swaps. Here they are: I hope you like these. I really wanted to keep some of them but since I only made 10 swaps I don't get to keep all...

Hi everyone, Just got back from Convention and I had a great time. The first day there I shopped in Memento Mall. I got some goodies for my downline and I also got a few cool things for myself. That night we had dinner with Mandy's inspiration, Ronda Wade, who has helped her to achieve all the things she did this year. Funny thing was I don't eat carbs now and that's all that was in the buffet. Fortunately they had a chicken breast for me. I can't believe that I was on vacation and was able to follow my diet without cheating. Not only that I lost weight. 3 pounds! Woo Hoo! Well after dinner we did the Flower Power Party that Stampin' Up! set up. We had to wear 70's type costumes. I was such a Disco Queen. LOL. Here's a picture of me. At Convention I get to meet people that I feel I know through their blogs. Unfortunately they don't know me. So it's kinda silly of me to run up to people and say, "OMG! I love your blog! I love your cards!...

Mandy earned the cruise but she also made the top 100 demonstrators in the US. In fact she was number 57! Amazing! She earned a bonus of $500. She'll be going on the Founders Circle trip. That's in Utah. Just for the top demonstrators. Gotta go to bed but I'll try to post more tomorrow.

I'm at Convention right now but wanted to share the swap I made. Most of you know that I love turtles so of course I had to get this stamp set, Nature's Nest.  I love the turtle because it looks like a box turtle which are the turtles I have. Here's the card: I also made these cute monogrammed tags for my group to use on their bags so we won't get them mix up. I hope they like them. I use Crystal Effects over the top of the letter to make it look like a cloisonne.  Used some of my Pretties Kit up finally that it's retired. I may have this be a class when I get back. My girls want these as book marks. I'm sure they could easily be turned into that. I used Tangerine Tango, Old Olive ribbon, Wild Wasabi dyed flowers. Mandy's is the biggest because she's the leader of our group L-inked Together. (Plus the M wouldn't fit in the smaller tag.) Hopefully I'll be posting some pictures from convention. Happy Stampin'!

Hi stampers! I'm so excited! I'm leaving tonight to go to the Stampin' Up! Convention! I have a box of swaps I'm taking with me. You'll see a picture of my swap tomorrow on this blog. I'll post pictures of my downline's swap and also Linda's swap and Flora's.  I made this card for my Father-in-law for his birthday. It's rather appropriate for my trip don't you think? I love the colors in it. I made a cute card for my up upline but forgot to take a picture of it. It's already sealed in the envelope. Should I just take it out and make a new envelope? Yep. Here's the card. She did great with her Stampin' Up! business this year and earned the trip to Alaska. It's an all expense paid cruise and she's going. I thought our stamp set with the ship was perfect for this card as well as Lovely As A Tree. Hope you enjoy. This year's trip is to Disney World. My kids really want to go. I know. I'm a bad mommy for not ...

Here's a cute card you can use to make invitations or just a quick hello. I love how the color Melon Mambo works so well. I used the scallop punch and cut out the seeds. Hope you enjoy it! Tomorrow is the Christmas Card Class. I'm looking forward to seeing my usual gals. But I must first go create a card for us to make. Later...

Okay this card suits me today. My poor kids have gotten the worst of it. Maybe I should give them this card. This was one of the cards we did at punch club. Hope you like it.  I'm off to take my girls to VBS and then hang out with the hubby. Hopefully that will cheer me up.

So what do you think we'll be doing for class tonight? Of course something Ice Cream related. Gotta get my challenge in there somewhere. This is a great idea for those who don't have an ice cream stamp. Take a look: I used More Mustard for the cone and ran it through the big shot to make it look waffle like. The ice cream is So Saffron and Pink Pirouette. Ribbon is Soft Suede which is the ribbon you'll be getting tonight. Only two more weeks until convention. I'm so excited! Still gotta do my swaps but I've made something special for my sideline. I'll post picks of all that July 21.

My upline and friend Mandy has done a lot of cute cards with the Sweet Scoops Stamp set. Check it out here: Mandy's Blog I hope everyone is busy making some cute cards for me to see. Don't forget that this Friday is punch club. I'm still thinking of something wonderful for you all to make. Remember it's 3 cards, pick a punch of your choice and 2 yards of ribbon for just $25. RSVP if you are coming. I want to post something that I've created but I've actually been organizing all my new colors. All the papers in the right place, all the new ink pads, all the markers in the carrying case. It's still semi crazy in my craft room but at least all the retired colors are removed. I wonder what I should do with those retired markers???Maybe I'll turn them into gifts for my wonderful customers. I'll have to think about that one. LOL. Hope to see some creative cards from you soon.

Jealous? I'm going to Convention and I'm so excited! New stamps, new friends and new ideas. Plus getting up before the sun so we can be the first ones into the convention hall. I'll be blogging (hopefully) from Salt Lake City so keep checking back. Happy Stampin'!

I love this great country of ours. America stands for Freedom and Equality and I'm proud to be an American. To celebrate our Independance I asked my friends and customers to submit patriotic cards. I got a fabulous card from Becky. Amazing work again! Here's the front: And here's the inside. Wow! She used the window sheets from Stampin' Up! to make the stars float. Here's the cute cards that my girls made: I'm going to send out 4th of July cards to my family with a picture of my girls in it. I found these cute dresses at Wal Mart for only $7. I had my friend take pictures of them. I think out of all the pictures she took this one is my favorite.  You can really see that Amanda is the older sister and that she's protective of Jessica. Love the sky in it too. Amazing work Denise! Well I guess that's all I have for today. Visit back often!

Many of my friends make cards for birthdays, special occasions and Christmas. I do this also and sometimes I  make a new card even though I have 20 birthday cards ready to go. So I was thinking that I should donate my old handmade cards to the Ronald McDonald House in Mobile. Great idea right? So I thought I would extent the invitation to my friends to see if they wanted to donate cards too. I was floored by the amount of cards I got from Linda and Flora on Sunday. Here's just a sample of what they gave me. Amazing! If you still want to donate some cards let me know. I can take them to the Mobile Ronald McDonald House. Okay so did anyone send me a card for the challenge I posted? I think Becky did. Her card is awesome! Even my husband opened it up and said, "Wow!" Becky wins again ladies. Maybe this next month I'll have a challenge that will get more ladies involved. LOL. In fact I think since it's Ice Cream Appreciation Month I'll make it an Ice Cream the...