A New Challenge

It seems that the title of this post may have way more than just one meaning here. I had truly anticipated being more regular-or more frequent-or more something, anyway, about posting on my blog . I suppose that for many reasons, that has just not happened as I had planned.

At any rate, Stampin' Up! CEO and cofounder, Shelli Gardner sent out a new challenge earlier in the month that I didn't realize she had issued until just recently. I guess I was so focused on getting things ready for convention, I didn't pay attention. And I normally do pay close attention to Shelli's blog posts.

Which brings me to the reason for this post. I had prepared 120 card swaps for convention and 50 3D projects, so I had actually intended to take a rest for a few days after I got back home last week. That lasted as long as it took for me to check in on the Stampin' Connection, our Demo Only discussion forum. That is when I saw the challenge post for creations made with stamp sets and products from our new 2013-2014 annual catalog.

And, being the competitive sort that I am, I decided to give it a go. So, here you have it:

The first picture is a card I made with the new stamp set - Gorgeous Grunge. I must confess here that "grunge" is not a genre that I would normally choose. This was one of the stamp sets that Stampin' Up! gave us at convention in Salt Lake City. I'm really warming up to this set. The card also showcases our new In Colors for 2013-2015. I chose to use another stamp set, also new to the 2013-2014 annual catalog - Really Good Greetings. I think this set is appropriate with the grunge set for this card. When I first stamped the card, I thought; isn't this a really good example of life in general? With all its parts. The good, and orderly,  the wildly familiar, and at the same time, the bad, and the chaos and disorder that is life as most of us know it to be. And yet, we all have choices to make each and every day; to do, to work, to play, to give, and to reflect. And look, there is only one layer attached to the base. That in itself is a major conquest for me! 

 

I used Bermuda Bay cardstock for the card base. The stamping is on Whisper White cardstock. The ink colors are Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and Strawberry Slush, all classic ink pads in the new annual catalog. I just had a stroke of creativity I guess, and added the mini silver brads at the end. And, as if Stampin' Up! needed another  endorsement, the 5 year old granddaughter, Riley, absolutely loves the new In Colors! She can hardly wait for me to paint her nails with the nail polish we were offered in Memento Mall. 

 

The next card that I made was using our new Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set, Tag It. Each year, Stampin' Up! creates a new set for RMHC, and from the sale of each set purchased, they will donate $3.00 to RMHC. Isn't that neat? I think it is. Being that the set was the RMHC one, and their efforts help those families that have sick children in the hospital around the world, I decided to make a cheerful Get Well card. I think that I succeeded in that attempt, don't you?  

 

Now, this card is more me. I love all of our products, including our Designer Series Papers. This one is called Gingham Garden. I LOVE it! As a matter of fact, I have already used a entire package of it. The base is Pear Pizzazz cardstock that was a recent In Color color, that has been added to our core color line of products. The first layer is Melon Mambo cardstock followed by Island Indigo, and the sentiment is stamped using Island Indigo classic ink on Whisper White cardstock. I used 4 of the 12 designs of the Gingham Garden paper on my card, as well as our Seam Binding Ribbon in Daffodil Delight. Quite cheerful, don't you agree?

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog, and that you'll come back again soon! Take gentle care,

Riley and Capen's Nanny.

Card Stock and Inks and Embellishments, Oh My!

This past week has really flown by. And Spring has finally arrived. Or is it Summer? It was 90 degrees here today, and I turned on the A/C last night because it was sure stuffy in here. In April. It was 82 degrees in the house at 10 pm! OMG

I have been bagging and tagging and boxing this week, getting ready for a Crafter's Yard Sale. I have seen things I didn't know I still had around here.

And next week, Spring cleaning. Lots of Spring cleaning. More than a lick and a promise, too. I have to get myself ready for my husband's upcoming retirement at the end of next month. I am not at all ready for this. I am entering this station of our lives with fear and in trepidation. He's going to be here all day every day. Which means more dishes. More laundry. More being startled when I turn around and he's standing there looking like he has no idea what to do with himself. 

That must be nice. I've never known that feeling. And I'm not sure I ever will. Or if I even want to.

I will of course also be taking a few breaks during next week. I need to create again. It just feels good!

Take gentle care, and we'll chat a gain soon...

Fondly,

Riley and Capen's nanny

Beth Steel

Will Somebody Please Teach Me How…

To properly (and quickly, I might add), upload, crop, filter through and arrange photos for publishing, before Riley gets back from her trip to New York to see Grandpa and Grandma Rose? I would seriously hate to ask the 5 year old how to do this…
I thought that you could teach an old dog new tricks! I must say, however, I do learn something new EVERY day.
I have been feverishly (okay, maybe hot flashing) creating these projects for the last few weeks to send to Stampin’ Up! I absolutely LOVE to create (play) with my Stampin’ Up! products. And I become sort of resentful when no one allows me the freedom to do so.

It does the heart and soul good to spend time making something beautiful with your own two hands and then sharing them with your friends and family near and far. You can get lost in time creating these timely greetings and preserving those memories that will one day become your legacy. Having such a great canvas to work with doesn’t hurt either.

A couple of weeks ago, Riley asked if we could make “Princess” crowns to help celebrate her recent 5th Birthday. I told her “We sure can. Let Nanny get out the supplies and we will get right to it.” I had saved and set aside the kits that Stampin’ Up! sold for just this opportunity. Thank goodness. It certainly helped when we sat down at the table to play for a while. I must insert here that she was so excited punching out the pieces and attaching them to her crown, she said, “I’m gonna make one for Mama, too.” She’s so incredibly sweet.

So I got to thinking about how I could surprise her with her very own “Princess” crown that Nanny made. I pulled out my Paper Lace Doily Sizzlit and the Silver Glimmer Paper that Stampin’ Up sent to us for their 25th Anniversary. I cut one out with the Big Shot, cut it in half, studded it with our Basic Jewels Rhinestones - I even colored some of them with permanent markers to make Rubies, Emeralds and Sapphires. I used a plastic hair band that I bought at the store, and I covered it with the glimmer paper attached with glue dots. Voila! a Princess crown a la Stampin’ Up!






Next on my list was to decorate a frame for one of my favorite pics of Riley when she was just a few months old. In fact, I loved it so much that I made it into a button and wore it to Convention 2008! To decorate the heart frame, I took out two of our new 4” paper doilies and folded them accordion style, and attached them together in the middle and pinched them together at the bottom to create a lacy heart fan. I dabbed the fan with Crumb Cake Ink, slid in a few roses and buttons from the Artisan Embellishments Kit in the Spring Mini Catalog, embellished the tag and tied a bow at the bottom. I LOVE it.



I then made a scrapbook page using the Feel Goods stamp set – also in the Spring Mini Catalog - and one of the sheets of designer series papers from the Floral District package. I used the Labels Framelits for framing the pictures, and the Windows Framelits for framing the journaling. And I got to use my brand new Heat Tool for the first time, too.For the heat embossing, I used the Daydream Medallions stamp set and clear embossing powder to play up the frame. I really like how it turned out.



I’m always intrigued by Riley’s industriousness (is that really a word?) and her tenacious spirit. Although, for the most part, she only needs to see something once and she’s all over it. She also has a stubborn streak a mile wide, and a good example of that shows in the picture of her holding the ear of corn in one hand and using the computer mouse with the other. No amount of coaxing or prodding could get that corn away from her either. We tried. And she insisted (at 3 years old) that she try out the big Shot after seeing her Nanny do it. Now she’s a real pro with it.

I made the Gumball Green card with the scrapbook kit in the Spring Mini. I had a lot of fun putting it together using a Classic sketch and then adding a sneak peek stamp from the Around Array set that will debut in the June 2013 catalog. CAS is a nice break for me. My style is lots of layers and embellishments, and fancy folds. To me, the more bling, the better.



The next card I made some time ago and had not yet gotten around to publishing it. So meet “I Do Day!” I wanted to make a “Formal” card when I saw the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. It must have been last Spring when the idea for the card came to fruition. It had been a while since I had used the Glossy card stock. And to use it to make a cake stand no less. The stand is made from punched out Decorative Labels. You punch out two labels along the long sides pretty close together and totally line up with the other. I used long strips of Whisper White card stock for the layers of the cake, and then used the Glossy card stock again and the Lace Border Punch to make some fancy decorations at the bottom of all the layers, finished it off with some pearls that were painted  Pretty in Pink with our markers, then a ribbon tied with our Whisper White Satin/Organdy ribbon and a rhinestone placed as the diamond on the ring.



The last card I made was with a stamp set in our Sale-a-bration Catalog called Vintage Verses, and the Tea for Two Designer Series Papers. I first used the new Fancy Fan Embossing Folder on the Calypso Coral card stock. I punched some circles from another page from the Tea for Two DSP, attached them to Very Vanilla card stock and then used the embedded embossing technique to give a Vintage feel to the card. I then spritzed over the embossed images with the Spritzer tool. I stamped Just Because with Calypso Coral, then punched it out with the Curly Label Punch. I backed it with a Decorative Label and attached two Vintage Trinket Button Brads. I finished off with a ribbon tied with an Antique brad.



I apologize for the long post, but I haven’t posted much lately, and I wanted you all to know that I AM doing something creative and inspiring. At least that is my objective and desire as well. You should be able to see the album in its entirety below of the 3 cards, Scrapbook page with some close  ups added, and the 2 3D projects.
Hope you like, and now I must stop. The mind and the body are very tired.
Take gentle care, and we’ll chat again soon, I promise.

Fondly,
Riley and Capen’s Nanny
Beth Steel

Time for a Confession

I have not been at all faithful to this effort. I have not posted since the first of November. Life has certainly gotten in the way. One of my girls got sick, and then naturally, so did the other. Before I knew it, Thanksgiving was knocking at my door, shortly followed by the beginning of the Christmas season.

The first week in December, my DH was sitting on the couch one morning when I woke up. That in itself is quite unusual, but what he said first to me was even more so. He told me to go ahead and make my coffee and to sit down, he had something he needed to tell me. Now, my first thought was "what has happened to my kid?" (He's 35 by the way) And then, "What has happened to my babies?"

He told me that he had been having chest pains all weekend, and when he got to work that morning and relayed that same information to his boss, she asked him "What are you doing here? GO HOME!" I suggested that we go to the hospital and get him checked out, but he didn't want to do that yet. He asked me to call the doctor's office instead. And then THEY suggested that we go to the hospital. He still just wanted to go to the doctor. So they agreed to see him that afternoon, and off he went. Without even telling me he was leaving!

About an hour later, I get a phone call from him. He tells me they're sending him to the hospital. By ambulance. Did I mention that being stubborn is his strong(est) suit? Let me just say here, I beat the ambulance to the hospital.

At this point, I'll get straight to it. They run a battery of tests; everything keeps coming up negative, and when they do a CT scan of his chest, they find a blockage in one of the major arteries to his heart. So they admit him and do more tests, and finally on the 4th day, they put in a stent. And keep him for 3 more days.

So, for all of the time leading up to and beyond Christmas, he is at home with me. All day. Everyday. And I know he's much better because he's getting really grumpy! Even Riley girl calls him out about it.

So...there has been no shopping, no cookie baking, and no present wrapping because there was no Christmas shopping, no Christmas card making or mailing, no Christmas decorating, and I can't find my favorite Christmas DVD, doggone it! And it's now December 23rd...Truth be told, this was one Holiday season I was glad to see come to an end.

So, I'll leave it for now, and do some more catching up real soon!

Take gentle care, and if I can accomplish what I hope to tomorrow,  we'll chat again!

Fondly,

Riley and Capen's Nanny