Rock-N-Roll

I thought this SU! leaf set would be perfect for the rock-n-roll technique. The leaves look very dimensional. One of my favorite parts of the fall is watching the leaves turn such brilliant colors. Fall just doesn't last long enough! It is still pretty warm here in Minnesota, I can't wait to visit an apple orchard and break out a sweater or two :)! Have a wonderful Friday!!

A Fantastic Tag Card From Pegi Taylor!!

Can you believe this card?? This was presented to me on a gift bag from Pegi Taylor. Can you believe how creative and gorgeous this is??? The card was created on a large tag - it has so many fabulous details!! It is so feminine and I treasure it!! Thanks and hugs to Pegi and her darling Willow!

Mallory's latest creation

Mallory says thank you to everyone who left her comments. She is so inspired by all this attention :) that she made a new creation today. She colored with a blender pen and chalks. And she wanted to let everyone know that she received $5 in the new $1 coins and a note from the Tooth Fairy. ((hugs))

New Recruit!!

Yesterday was my DH and my 13 year wedding anniversary. He is just the best guy. I am so lucky to have found him. Well, yesterday I also signed my first SU! recruit! So, my family and Kim's family all had dinner together at Tucci Benucch at the Mall of America. It was lots of fun and I am so excited to stamp lots with Kim!! She is such a sweetie and very talented!! I hope you are all having a fabulous week!! ((hugs))

P.S. If you've ever thought about signing up (even as a hobby demo), for $199 you get lots of supplies plus an entire stamp pad color family if you sign up by Friday - what a sweet deal!!

ATC #2 for Tracy

I think most of you know I love room cards!! I haven't been able to make one lately. So I thought I would get back to playing paper dolls again :)! These take a lot of time because of the coloring and cutting out, but they're so stinkin' cute!! All images are A Muse and all paper is SU!. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!!

World Card Making Day!

I will be hosting a class on October 6th for World Card Making Day! This will be a fun fold class and we will be making a Joy fold, Cami tri-fold, z-fold, and a Triangle Trifold card. You will go home with the cards and the instructions to make them. You will also have the oppotunity to make a special card that will go to the troops. These will be sent to soldiers stationed in the Middle East.Stampin' Up! is giving a 20% discount on Simply Sent kits during this event!! The class will be $10 and we will be making 4 different cards using stamps from 2 Simply Sent kits. Two of the cards were designed by me (the flower cards) and two were designed by Kathleen Hopperstad (the cupcake and the snowflake cards). I think this is going to be fun!! Please contact me for more info!! ((hugs))

Tooth Fairy letter for tonight / Mallory lost a tooth today

Mallory has exciting news...she lost a tooth today. She loves the tooth fairy so much that she wanted to make her a card. She thought an ATC size would be "easier for her to carry in her travels tonight under her arm while she also carries her tote bag with the teeth." She hopes the tooth fairy likes her card and for the first time in her tooth losing history she is not interested in what the trade is going to be ($$)!!! She is more interested in the response to this beatiful card!!!! The apple didn't fall far from the tree!!!! ;)

The stamp was a gift from Tami Wood and the sentiment is from A*Muse. Mallory hopes you enjoy her creation.

Holiday ATC

Here is a spoiler for Tracy's ATC swap. All images are A Muse and all paper is SU! The smoke is made with a punch. I hope you are having a fun evening! (hugs)

Photos from my stamp club!

Here are the fabulous ladies of my longest running stamp club! Kasey, Katie, Jodi, Kelly (not pictured), Mary (who I met through the blog!!), her daughter Carrie, and guests Kris, Deb and Deanne! What a wonderful evening! These ladies are so much fun!

Here is one of the projects we made. It's one of those counter-top sample clipboards. Don't you love projects that are super cheap to make?!! Love it! I think the people at Home Depot are catching on that crafters aren't using them for counter-top samples!! **wink**

Tagged Again!!

Miss Trish and Tracy have tagged me:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Smokey Expedition
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Bubble gum Chocolate Chip
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) K-Lew
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Pink Koala
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Lewkr
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) Purple the Wine
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- James Anthony
8. STRIPPER NAME : ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Covet kit-kat
9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ann Anthony

Now I need to tag 5 people.
Emily Weems
Elena
Tandra
Kathleen
Tami McBeain

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Kathleen.

Four Tidbits

Four Places I have worked:
1) The Lawyers Commitee for Human Rights(My Master's is in International Relations)
2) The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
3) Impress Yourself
4) Benetton

Four Places I have lived:
1) Geneva, Switzerland
2) Hoboken, NJ
3) Boston, MA
4) Binghamton, NY

Four Places I have been on Vacation:
1) Acapulco, Mexico
2) Aruba
3) Naples, FL
4) Bermuda

Four Favorite Foods
1) CHOCOLATE!!!
2) Pizza
3) Mexican
4) Steak

Four Friends I'm tagging that are most likely to respond:
1) Anne Marie
2) Pegi Taylor
3) Anne Sanborn
4) Mary in NH

New blog banner!!

O.K., what do you think? Do you miss the deer? I was starting to wonder if people thought this was a hunting blog, lol!! If you are looking for a blog banner contact Sam at essentialsunshine@gmail.com. This is same designer as Taylored Expressions. Have a happy day! ((hugs))

Blogger Babes RAK's

This is a candy holder from Michelle (she so needs a blog)! It is so adorable!

Pegi Taylor makes just beautiful journals. She is selling them at craft fairs this fall. Here is one that she made for me! I absolutely treasure it!!

Pegi Taylor is sooo talented!

Have you checked out Bella Willow yet? Pegi is a super talented stamper! (and a sweetie)! Here is a card that she taught Kathleen, Michelle and I. The DP is Daisy D's, the solid paper is SU! Confetti White and Old Olive. The stamps are from Haunting Halloween(on special this month) and the sentiment is from the Halloween Papertrey set, Spooky Sweets. How stinkin' cute is this!?

Tami Wood is DA BOMB!

Here is Tami's latest creation! I love all the attention to detail. I must find this A Muse cat stamp! Don't you just love Halloween?! I am also showing you the inside of a Tami card. What you won't always see online is that she always finishes the inside of her cards! How stinkin' amazing is all of this?!! Thanks Tami, you stamping goddess!! :)

Thank you Tami

Tami Grandi is a talented and sweet blogger! I met her slmost immediately after starting Balance. You should check out her blog The Journey of Life! Here is a wonderful card I received after winning a blog candy from her! (By the way Tami I used the gift certificate to buy some Martha Stewart Halloween stamps! Thanks and hugs!)

Love, Elsie project from ScrapFest

How cool is this?! The make -n- take was made using playing cards!! I think I may use this idea in an upcoming stamp club!

The Pages are bound together with Love, Elsie fabric paper that already has adhesive on the back! It is fabulous!

Corie's swap

This is a card for Corie's Christmas card swap. The words are from warm wishes (SU!), the paper and ink are all SU! (Soft Sky, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black and Whisper White), the ribbon is Soft Sky, the clips are from the holiday mini (library clips), SU! Dazzling Diamonds and SU! brads. I hope you like it!! By the way Corie's blog is a must see!!

The Michael Jordan of Stamping

While making reservations for the "Taylor Reception", I was trying to explain to the manager of the restaurant that a V.I.P was coming to his restaurant. He inquired who this special person is. I didn't know how to explain to a non-stamper who Taylor is, so she is now the "Michael Jordan of the stamping world" :)! **wink**

Scrapfest Part Trois!

Here are some projects that were shown at Scrapfest. I loved the Creative Imagination booth. Their make-n-takes were the absolute best!!



I loved the K & Co. booth. The staff there was so organized and friendly! I fell in love with their new tape runner! You must try it out! Here is one of their featured projects. (pink and red together seem to be a popular look for Christmas this year).

Tami and I met a fabulous group of women! Hello Edwina, Connie, and the other great girls from Illinois (I lost your names :)).

Paris, Pegi, Tami and I met a Minnesota moose...

Amy Butler signed my bag (don't you just love her bags and scrapbooking papers and embellishments!?)

The Tim Holtz and Doodlebug classes were spectacular!! Very organized and informative! Here is Tim hard at work...

I am so tired!! What a whirlwind of a weekend! I hope you had a happy Monday :)!!

Blog Candy Winner

O.K., I am so shocked! Balance hit 20,000 way before I thought it would!! So what I thought would be weeks leading up to the big day turned into days! Thanks to everyone for supporting Balance! You are so appreciated! Many Hugs!! And here is what the lucky winner is receiving!
(1 6x6 CM album, 1 pink album, pencils, a pen, ribbon, Scotch glue stick, CM mounting paper, and more!)
And the winner is:

True Random Number ServiceRandom Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

52
Timestamp: 2007-09-08 21:30:48 IST

so it's:
Anne Marie who said...
Stampin Up
Lockhart
Stampendous
gotta add a "wish list" fav ... Fancy Pants. Oh my some of their new sets are so beautiful! BTW, your girls are so precious! I could barely get pics of mine; eldest started HS this year, and she was bleary eyed and out the door at 6:00 am!

September 4, 2007 10:01 PM

Congratulations!! Email me your addy!!

Scrapfest Part Deux!

Kathleen and I arrived at the mall bright and early. We went to find Tami working at the Hero Arts booth and met Sherri Carrol!! (and no Kathleen and I did NOT mean to coordinate outfits :))!!

Then we did a few make-n-takes. I loved the one from Love, Elsie. It was made with playing cards! I did get her to sign my bag! She is so petite and just darling!

We took a class from Stemma which was not the greatest. But continued with some fabulous make-n-takes. Then it was time for the dinner with Taylor at the California Pizza Kitchen (yummy)! Here is the group that was there:

Tami Wood, Tami McBeain, Paris Otremba, Amy Westerman, Pinefeather (Heather), Taylor, Pegi Taylor, Kris Fuhs, Kathleen, and Michelle! So many of these women are blog super stars - it was very exciting!
I'm so tired! I have a mother-daughter class in the morning! I'll post more tomorrow and draw the blog candy! ((hugs))!

Scrapfest!

Today was day one of Scrapfest! I met Tami at the Mall of America to check out what was happening...While I was awaiting Tami's arrival, I thought I would check out Archiver's. I looked over and saw the one and only Tim Holtz!! He is so adorable and talented. I asked him to sign my Amy Butler bag (I was so embarrassed!)

Tami then arrived and we shopped a little at Archiver's...

We went out to dinner and then went back to Archiver's where we ran into Larry Hermansen (A VP from K & Company) and Deb (also from K & Company).

Tomorrow is going to so much fun! Here is a picture of the Scrapfest sign hanging on a four story elevator...

I am most looking forward to meeting Taylor, Amy Butler and Elsie Flannigan! Also to see Pegi and Paris!! I'll report again soon! ((hugs))

Halloween Card

This is a card I have been working on for a swap with Tami, Mary and Anne! I hope you all like!! ((hugs)) The stamps are MFT, the ribbon is Martha and the embellishments are doodlebugs. Thanks for stopping by!

ATC from Tandra

I received the most beautiful ATC yesterday from Tanda at Inkalicious! Tami and I saw this yummy ATC on her blog and requested a swap :)! I just love the colors. She is an amazing stamper and a sweetie! Thanks and ((hugs))!

Gift For Taylor

Hello! I am busy getting ready for Scrapfest. Friday evening I am having dinner with stamper extraordinaire, Taylor from Taylored Expressions. I am super excited! I wanted to make her a gift and this is what I have created. The letter is from Michael's, the DP is Iron Orchid Designs (IOD), and the buttons are Fancy Pants. What do you think? Is it Taylor worthy?

More from Lexi!!

Recently, Balance featured the lovely and talented Lexi Daly! Her blog Confetti is an absolute must! Lexi sent some wonderful and inspiring cards for me to share with you...
The Rock Star! The paper and ribbon are just the best! Lexi has a real eye for detail!

Rock Star take 2! Lexi is so versatile. I love how this rocker looks more subdued, I think he's singing a ballad! She has added sparkles to the guitar and the sentiment. The paper is fabulous and says "stage". It's all in the details!

And how adorable is this card?! The sun is created with a Martha Stewart punch, glitter and a clear dimensional sticker! I just love all the fabulous details! (Have I mentioned that before???)

And this gorgeous necklace... Lexi says it is a New Orleans stand-by. I love every detail about it. It is so tasteful and I can't wait to wear it! I have seen lots of jewelry don with dominoes and this is my favorite so far! (Don't you love the ribbon and beads!) Maybe if I clean up well today, I'll take a photo of me wearing it, we'll see...

Thanks so much Lexi! I treasure your work! ((hugs))

Blog Candy

As soon as my number hits 20,000 hits - I will be offering the largest blog candy I have offered yet!! I will tease you with photos as the number gets closer! Just leave a comment here with your favorite 3 stamp companies!! Have a happy!!

Making Memories Blog Candy Winner

Random.org chose:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

29
Timestamp: 2007-09-04 17:40:41 IST

So the lucky lady is... Kris who wrote:

I finally subscribed and am looking forward to checking out your site!

Kris can you please email me your address so I can get your goodies out to you? Congratulations and thanks to eveyone for playing!!

Back to School

I feel melancholy, my girls went back to school today. Where does time go? They are so excited to go and I feel like the house is quiet and empty without them. What should I do?? Stamp? Oh well, if I must :)! I can't wait for them to get home so I can hear how their day went! I hope all of you are having a joy filled day! ((hugs))

RAK from Novell!

Here is a RAK from the amazingly talented and guest A Muse designer Novell! I am thrilled to have a piece of her art in my hands :)!! The colors and coloring job are spectacular! Thanks so very much Novell!

Christmas ATC #2

This is also for Anne's swap! I am so excited to see what everyone else has created!! This is for group #2. All images are A Muse. The ribbon is from Michael's. The paper and DP is SU!. The bling is A Muse. The white ink is a cool white sharpie from Tami Wood! Have a great holiday tomorrow! ((hugs))