Miss Trish has a request!

Miss Trish is looking for looking for 6x6 or 8x8 album and stickers at reasonable prices. If you can help out please click here! She is a sweetie and has a great blog!

Featured August Artist - Lexi Daly

Lexi Daly is an incredibly talented artist. Her blog Confetti is an inspiring place worth a visit! Lexi's artistic expression comes through many outlets including stamping, cakes, jewelry and party planning! She is unaware of just how talented she is and I believe she is on the cusp of becoming a star! Here is my interview with Lexi:

How long have you been stamping and decorating cakes?

I have been stamping for a little over eight years, decorating cakes about seven. Although I've been into drawing and other crafts, including baking all my life! When I discovered stamping, I had already been designing stationery and invitations for myself and friends, mostly on the computer with some scanned artwork of my own.

What was your first stamping experience? What was your first stamp?

My first stamping experience was coming up with ideas for my 8 year old daughter's birth announcement. My cousin introduced me to the idea while I was visiting a few months before my due date and I ordered a SU! baby set just for the project. My first stamp however was given to me long before that by a college friend for my birthday--a fish that i still have. At the time, I had no idea what to do with it! After that first SU! order and project, I was hooked! And since my cousin lives in Florida, I became my own demonstrator.

What are your favorite stamp companies?

My favorite stamp companies are A Muse, Papertrey Ink, Stamping Bella and of course, Stampin' Up!, which started it all for me. I also like stamps from Hero Arts, Impress Rubber Stamps and Paper Source. A true collection wouldn't be complete without an assortment!

Where do you get inspiration from?

I get inspiration from everywhere--colors and themes in magazines and catalogs, clothes, TV commercials, movies, books and sometimes just staring at the stamps and papers or just seeing what I have spread around my desk. I try not to look at too many samples of a new set or stamp until I've played with it unless I'm truly stumped or can't remember why I had to have it!

What other hobbies do you enjoy?

My little business keeps me busy and revolves around my top hobbies--stamping, stationery design, cake decorating & throwing parties. I don't have time for a lot of other hobbies, but I love to read and I belong to a book club to make sure I make time for it. I also volunteer in various community and school activities. And, quite the opposite of reading, I love bad, mindless TV--I can multi task to it and it makes me laugh!

How long have you lived in New Orleans?

I was born in New Orleans (38 years ago this month!) And have lived here most of my life. I also lived in Lafayette, Louisiana for a while when I was growing up and in Austin while attending the University of Texas.

Do you have favorite blogs?

It's hard to pick just one! The one that got me hooked on blogs was Julie Ebersole's via Splitcoaststampers, which then led me to Scoopy's, which quickly became a favorite and then it just went on and on from there!

Do you teach?

Stamping? Not now, though I've taught a few classes before. In my full time working life, I was a first grade teacher and continue to teach extremely part time--first grade computer lab, only two hours a week! I even have a blog for them where I introduce any web-based lessons so we have our links in one place.

Do you have a favorite stamping moment?

Any time I nail my visions on paper! So many times, I start stamping without an idea of where I'm going, and that's fun. But if I do happen to have a picture or idea floating around in my brain, I get so excited when I can actually create it and it works--like my ipod inspired rock star cards or my berry basket, which got an honorable mention from Nichole Heady.

Lexi mentioned that she is honored and flattered to be featured on Balance! Isn't she a class act?!!

I know someday Lexi is going to be on a design team! She is awesome (as an artist and a person)!

Right now, Lexi is working on getting published and she is a new Staff Reporter for Craft Critique! Thanks so much Lexi!

Here are a few samples of her work:



A Muse Cards!! Aren't they so well done!!



Here are some more inspiring cards!! Love them!!

A gorgeous wedding album!
And now the cakes...They are to die for!!



Thanks for sharing all your wonderful art with us, Lexi!!

Ack! I WON!!

I just found out you all won me a Making Memories prize!! I don't even know what it is yet...Here is what the blog post said:

"In MM's August newsletter, we had a refer a friend to sign-up promotion for our newsletter. The FIVE readers who signed up the most people were promised a fantastic prize including the latest from MM. Thank you to everyone who participated.

If your name is listed below, then you are a winner. Email me your contact information so I can send you the prize. (jweston@makingmemories.com)

Chelsi Dall
Heidi S. Tallerud
Katie Piotrowski
Kristina Lewis
Tina Mayo"

I so owe all of you!! When it arrives, I'll show you!! ((hugs))

Birthday goodies from Rhiannon!

Look at the wonderful creations from my friend Rhiannon! (You so need to check out her blog!) I have been so spoiled this birthday! Thank you so much! You have such amazing talent and I treasure these gifts!! ((hugs))

Convention Inspired Card

This card is a group effort of my upline, Kathleen Hopperstad and myself! I am so lovin' this card! The top of the cupcake is made with the scallop punch, placed in Versa Mark ink and embossed with the Halograph embossing powder (SU!). We used wireworks to create the metal loop that the tags are hanging from. I love the colors on this also!! What do you think??

More RAK's

I just have to share these beautiful cards with you! The first card is a welcome to the A Muse Addicts Club (email me if you would like to join) from the talented Rhonda (SCS: Manyblessings).

This gorgeous card is from my dear friend Mary from It's All About The Journey.


Thank you both so very much! You rock!!

Hello!

Hello! This is a card out to all of my blogging friends! It amazes me that so many people I have never met face-to-face can mean so much to me! This is a card for lifting my spirits this week. Thank you! Life threw a bit of a curve ball and I just want you to know that all your kind words really mean so much! ((hugs!!)) All images are A Muse, notecard, tag, and ribbon are A Muse. Colored with SU! markers and punches are SU!. Have a happy!

Blog Candy Winner!!

Through Random.org:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

51
Timestamp: 2007-08-21 20:23:08 IST

So the winner is...Allison!! Congratulations!! Please email me your address and I will get your package out to you! (You really need to check out Allison's fabulous blog...Stampin' When I Can)

Card from Kathleen

How gorgeous is this?? Kathleen is my SU! upline and very talented!! Thanks sweetie!

Gift From Miss Trish!

I was so spolied this birthday! Here is a gift I received from Miss Trish! If you haven't checked out her blog, you need to!! She is such a sweetie! Thanks for the goodies and the thoughtfulness, Miss Trish! You are a great friend!

Tami's birthday card!

This card is very special! Tami Wood made ths a while ago and it was selected as a card of the week for A Muse! I am so thrilled to have it! What an amazing gift! Thanks Tami!!

Party Details!

Well, we are all still recovering from the big day! The girls are exhausted! Here are a few photos I thought you might enjoy...

Here is Tami and Mallory! Simone, she has PINK in her hair!!

I'm so blessed to have these two as friends...Tami and Kathleen!
Thanks to everyone for all the warm wishes!! Hugs!

Birthday Blog Candy!

I know it's a wonderful tradition here in blog land to have birthday blog candy!! So, because today is my birthday, my blog candy will be: An A Muse stamp and some A Muse ribbon and a few extra goodies! I will draw a winner on Tueday! Thanks for visiting my blog! You all are amazing! ((hugs))

I haven't heard from Patty Jo yet from the last blog candy!! Does anyone know her email?? Thanks!

Beauty

Hello! Today is party day! This is a photo of the beauty/updo center! I cased this idea from Heidi Swapp (i just love that girl). How fun will this be? I wish I was one of the kids! Tami is coming over to help with the festivities, thanks woman! I received some amazing birthday RAK's from the Yahoo A Muse Club! (if you haven't joined this yet, you need to!) I will share those tomorrow...right now I'm off to finish preparations! Hugs to you Mary (I love the card)!!

Winner

Hello! Thanks to everyone who participated in my blog candy and registered for the Making Memories newsletter. I don't know if I won yet, but I thought I would go to http://www.randomizer.org and get a winner. Random.org isn't working for me right now!! I get so excited about posting the winner...it's so hard to wait!! Sooo...without further ado lucky #3

PattyJo!! I need you to email me your snail mail address so I can send you your goodies!

Help

I can't get Random.org to load to pick a blog candy winner!! Is anyone else having trouble??

Thanks

Here is a birthday RAK I received from the incredibly talented Rhonda Maynard!! Thanks so much Rhonda, I absolutely LOVE this card. My DH said "That is a really good one." Even he is recognizing talent :)!! The color job is fantastic!! You know I would like to make this scene a reality! ((hugs))

Halloween

Hello! I am so loving circles on scrapbook pages! Have you caught circle fever yet? This page is from a sketch my upline Kathleen Hopperstad found. It may be a Maria Bell sketch? I love the Creepy Crawly DP and the Batty For You stamp set! Have a happy!! ((hugs))

Clipboard

Hello! This is an idea cased from amyz2988 at SplitcoastStampers. It's a sample piece of laminate flooring (about 3x5) covered in designer paper (Cutie Pie) and So Saffron stamped in Small Pieces, wrapped in a Wild Wasabi ribbon, and has a large office clip at the top. (I bought mine at Office Max). The stamped flower at the top is Big Pieces. I picked up a few pieces of the samples at Home Depot (hello - free!!)

Reminder

I have blog candy below that I am pulling for on Thursday!! Many thanks to everyone who has entered! ((Hugs))

Centerpiece

Here is the centerpiece I created for Mallory's party. I cased this from convention (shocker!)! The paper is Sweetie Pie. It coordinates with the tray and the cups. (See below) To make the flowers, I cut 2-3 inch strips of 12x12 DP and scored them every 1/4 inch. It takes 2 12x12 strips to make a flower. Inside the tin (from Michael's) are Jelly Bellies (from Target). I love idea that they can snack from the centerpiece - seems like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - if only the flowers were edible! This took a lot longer to make than I had anticipated! I hope you like it!

Topper

I love the topper cards and this is my first one! The DP is retired SU! All stamps are A Muse and the ribbon is A Muse. The punches are Marvy. The bling is A Muse. I know it's still summer, I'm just in love with the snowman wreath stamp! ((Hugs))!

Warning! Etsy Enabling!

I have developed a bit of a love of Etsy! Have you been there yet? Do you have favorite shops? I'd love to hear what you've discovered there! Here are a few of my favorite shops:

The Small Object

This is one of the creations I have purchased from the little cottage industry of Sarah Neuburger who makes artwork, limited editions + handmade goods. You can find more items for sale on her online shop. I just love her work!

Sugar Elf's Shop

Have you gotten into the pincushion craze? Here is another splurge! I love the sweet faces on all of their pieces! This is definitely worth taking a peek!

Tiddlywinks

So, are you seeing a common theme here? I am a big kid! Seriously, the work from this artist is pristine. All dolls are inspired by the drawings her children make. My doll came with notepaper and a darling magnet. It's all in the details **wink**. I hope you'll share your Etsy purchases and/or dream purchases! Happy Sunday!

Amuse CHALLENGE #1 - No Layers

This is for a Yahoo group. I used many of the new A Muse stamps, and the gel pen with gold sparkles. I love Halloween. I apologize for my poor photo. I so need the photo box!!

I saw this at convention...

I am still casing ideas from convention! My daughter turns 9 on August 19th and I turn 30 something!! (Yes, we have the same birthday!) She is the greatest gift I ever received! The DP is Cutie Pie and the leaf is Wild Wasabi. I bought the tray at Michael's and decoupaged the DP on it. The tray came with some clear plastic to place on top. To cover the cup, I just cut a cup flat to make a template, then I punched 1 1/4 circled and layed them around a circle measured to the size of the cup. This created a template. The leaf I cut free hand and then cut a slit. I am stamping each girl's name on them. My daughter asked how they will drink out of them. With a straw! :)!I am making these for a slumber party for all my daughter's friends. They are baking pizzas, decorating cupcakes, doing hair and make-up, making frames, watching a movie and going in the hot tub! I am going to be exhausted!! I will take some photos and post them! Have a great night!

What does everyone think of Spellbinder Nestabilites

I've been checking these out. Does anyone have these? Do they work well? Should I buy them? What shapes? Thanks for any help!

Rhi's got some Awesome Blog Candy!!

Check out the talented Rhiannon for some yummy blog candy!! Click here to enter!~

Please help me win a contest! Blog Candy!

O.K. blogging buddies...I need your help!

Making Memories just launched a contest. Between today and August 17 (midnight, MST), please sign up for their monthly newsletter and tell them that I (Kristina Lewis)sent you. If you do, please leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win this blog candy...


Contents include a Once Upon A Family Summer album, a SU! Celebration stamp set, Creative Memories notecards, some daubers, tags, and a tin lunch box!Just click here to subscribe! I'm also looking for a Balance subtitle. Do you have any ideas?

A few more convention photos...

Here is what the WOW card swap looked like!

This is part of the group I went with at General Session. (Kathy, Nancy, Kathleen and I). So much fun!!

A Muse Halloween Card

Hello! Inside the card I stamped the A Muse prince! I used the SU! word window punch and stamped the sentiment inside. I used the sparkler stamp as a magic wand. The tags were made with the SU! tag punches and the ribbon is A Muse. The notecard is A Muse also. I hope you have used your magic to turn a toad into a prince **wink**!!

Home Decor!!

While at convention, I was so inspired by all the home deocor ideas!! So, since I got home, I've been working on this Halloween project. I bought the boxes at Walmart for $1.99 each. I decoupaged the bottoms with the Creepy Crawly DP. Then I heat embossed the lids with Basic Black craft ink, I created the band around them from Black paper and the 1 1/4 circle punch, and I created the bow and tags from the same paper and the Batty For You stamp set. I cased this from a Shelli project. I just love it!! What do you think? The hebbie jebbie bottle is from Michael's. They have great Halloween decorations this year!! (My daughter handed me the bottle and said she gave me the heebie jeebies :))!!

A New Blog Winner and a Great Story!!

Hello! Well, the first blog winner, Laura Widdison has graciously declined the blog candy! Why, you ask? Well, Laura is the wife of one of the official Stampin' Up! photographers! If you were at convention, you may know him as the photographer with lots of curly hair. And Miss Laura is even in the Stampin' Up! catty with her darling daughter! She wrote "Oh! If you want to SEE who I am :), check page 125 in your new catalog! That's me and our baby girl. :) (kinda creepy picture of me in my opinion - lol) Fun! (pictures of our daughter pop up in stampin' success and different things once in a while.)" How cool is that!? Laura said that her DH brought her goodies from convention and she felt that she should share the wealth. Is she a doll or what!? Well, next year when we are in Salt Lake, we need to seek out the photographer and tell him what a sweet wife he has!!

So our next winner is...

Mary who said "I can not believe the number of people that refer us to your site!! You must be doing something right! John Grisham is the author I love to read. Where are you located? I need a new SU demo..." Mary please send me your snail mail address and I will get that package right out to you! I would also love to get you a SU! catalog :)!!

Thanks everyone!

A Few Photos...

At the convention...

Shelli Gardner, the co-founder of Stampin' Up!, was all business!



I really was so uninspired!

I didn't meet any other bloggers (Lori at Inking Aloud)
Just kidding!! It was a blast! I am so inspired! I am on overload and I recommend convention to anyone next year!! I will post more tomorrow! ((Hugs))

Mary I saw that you are in need of a demonstrator! Email me! I live in Savage, Minnesota!

Blog Candy Convention Winner!!

Thanks to all who left comments! It is great to be back home! Convention was a blast. I have big news, the blog candy winner was Laura W who said...
Oh, eesh, favorite ... I can never pick favorites. I'll just tell ya what I've read most recently. :) (Besides Harry Potter) ... the last book was East of Eden.

Laura, please send me your snail mail address so I can get these fabulous prizes out to you!!

Hello From Denver!

I first want to say I am so sad for what has happened back home in Minneapolis. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you back home. Please say lots of prayers for everyone involved. Everyone here from Minnesota is with all of you in Minnesota in spirit!

I have my blog candy purchased!! Yes, the keychains sold out, but I have even more fabulous items! A mini catalog bag and a magnet set. These are exclusive items from Convention! I will post pictures when I return TOMORROW!! Plus, I will draw a winner! I will also include a few swaps!! It has been so fun and I can't wait to share all that I have learned!

Hugs to all of you!