tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13902939700808706852024-03-12T20:23:26.477-05:00Paper Bits & Ribbon PiecesStefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-64311184591484946882008-09-21T13:24:00.003-05:002008-09-21T13:46:41.091-05:00Moving ???Wooo Hooo !! I'm a Winner !! Becca has contacted me ans said that my blog candy is in the mail !! This should be fun - I'll be sure to use the stamps and post as soon as possible. Thanks for all the wonderful comments ladies. I want you all to know that if I comment on your creativity, it is because I truly believe what I'm saying. Some of you are artists beyond your own imaginations and I'm often in awe !! And Becca's work is just simply incredible! Does she every make a bad card?? I doubt it. I'm sure that my waste basket is a lot fuller than hers !! LOL !!<br /><br />Well, here is my post for today. I was commissioned to do a moving card for a friend. She is moving to a small town in northern Wisconsin. I googled the town to look for<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0KLrwJitzSTgujsxTKaqjeoSXPlvTO7qDQ8Y-9Tf3O8heKDLq_0G9ks_Sk6Q3ShKuDjueH_kq6SOQRpuGv2UggTLytcfZS5Ixm5xtkXJ__6t1IR8wbKwUxHswVTkuup_QJqzmEtJSQ_c/s1600-h/Just+Moved.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0KLrwJitzSTgujsxTKaqjeoSXPlvTO7qDQ8Y-9Tf3O8heKDLq_0G9ks_Sk6Q3ShKuDjueH_kq6SOQRpuGv2UggTLytcfZS5Ixm5xtkXJ__6t1IR8wbKwUxHswVTkuup_QJqzmEtJSQ_c/s200/Just+Moved.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248544633714217730" border="0" /></a> something interesting to put on the inside of the card - well guess what? There is nothing interesting. Her DH is building a log cabin and her closest "town" (not city) is over an hour away. I can't imagine her living there in the dead of winter so I may have to make a room in the basement !! :)<br /><br />Anyway, I did put the last census population which was 601 and then I crossed it out and made it 603! That is about the only thing I could do to make it "fun"!<br /><br />The card itself is the Papertrey set called Boards & Beams. I love this set - but then I love houses. I colored the house with my Copic's and I think it looks a little like a log cabin. I used SU designer paper, retired Caribbean blue paper and close to cocoa. This card took a lot more time then I had planned but I like the way it turned out. I don't think you can see it but on the blue cardstock I used versamark ink to stamp two other houses.<br /><br />I also thought that I would post another card that I had done a little while back. I was trying to do an SCS challenge. I really would love to get into those <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWeVGTxyz9eLqPsSIQtncCpcrNq1lIP-Zq8LG6DGelv0JrYdC6Qm47qa5p7vP5uCMmrkBSaAzVZ-7SN6v3spgSFceOiILMAIP2yLBRscv4ylQmdj9jn1L5MGOLH2JYNW4JKHichtFk-dI/s1600-h/SCS+Challenge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWeVGTxyz9eLqPsSIQtncCpcrNq1lIP-Zq8LG6DGelv0JrYdC6Qm47qa5p7vP5uCMmrkBSaAzVZ-7SN6v3spgSFceOiILMAIP2yLBRscv4ylQmdj9jn1L5MGOLH2JYNW4JKHichtFk-dI/s200/SCS+Challenge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248546128446203906" border="0" /></a>but I just don't have that much time to stamp. And, then when I'm pressed for time and restricted to design, I become too over-whelmed. The anxiety starts setting in and I'm done !! Well, this card I did a few weeks after the challenge just because it intrigued me. I took it to one of my classes and they immediately wanted to do it too.<br /><br />So, with my CB under arm, I took it to the next class and they were delighted to make it. I used Not Quiet Navy and the retired River Rock SU cardstock. This set is Embrace Life - one of my favorites. Because I made a standard size A2 card, it was a little hard to find the right size nestability to fit. I wanted all the layers (Becca influence!). I think it turned out pretty good and I'm willing to do it again ! :)<br /><br />Well, thanks again for all the nice comments and thank you Becca for sharing your creativity with all of us. Have a great Sunday all.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-64741113321148906072008-09-10T20:16:00.004-05:002008-09-10T20:35:54.410-05:00Witchy, Witchy.Hi everyone. I hope that you all had as pleasant a summer as I have. It has been a long time since we have had such beautiful weather. We really got to enjoy our back yard this year, with many BBQ evenings and fires in the fire pit. You just can't ask for anything better.<br /><br />Well, I ha<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDRzOKe0hgODKVqvmtY8ACL7FK2eaGITSjCKp2ApUtDd7CLR4Fj_rgdcnoNBs1bK3o_5paEwrny_lQ6z460Pagmi4UVuAiGpebn_ONiSb1zuMcCNqvxfiOXb1BrbxsYcEccuZxNPhuQaz/s1600-h/July+2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDRzOKe0hgODKVqvmtY8ACL7FK2eaGITSjCKp2ApUtDd7CLR4Fj_rgdcnoNBs1bK3o_5paEwrny_lQ6z460Pagmi4UVuAiGpebn_ONiSb1zuMcCNqvxfiOXb1BrbxsYcEccuZxNPhuQaz/s200/July+2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244568247797778914" border="0" /></a>ve a couple of cards for you today. The first one was so fun to make. It was for my DH birthday. We are a cat and dog house and all the animals are his (at least he feeds and cleans them !! LOL !!). So that is the reason for the animal card. Simple but fun. Stamping directly on the checked background paper was really a fun thing to do. I see so many cards on SCS that do this and I never remember to try it. This time I did and I'm hooked. There is nothing out there that says you can't enhance designer paper, is there? :)<br /><br />The second card is my favorite witch. I have had her f<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru3foSOy0DrrTBQVnD12w3sGj9zclwwttw9U2z0paYbLlhIAFhEbk96U01EtBqyleCe5tXmnvlG0oBq_UBerSc12dJh_v81zpz36nJH6cbmCQHF_HQcbSkOf5SUiEBQ2jbf-v4cuYbZeS/s1600-h/Witch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru3foSOy0DrrTBQVnD12w3sGj9zclwwttw9U2z0paYbLlhIAFhEbk96U01EtBqyleCe5tXmnvlG0oBq_UBerSc12dJh_v81zpz36nJH6cbmCQHF_HQcbSkOf5SUiEBQ2jbf-v4cuYbZeS/s200/Witch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244570510671629106" border="0" /></a>or about 4 years and every year I have to bring her back to life. I love the face and expression that she has. She is fun and not scary so you don't have to worry about who you give it to. She is pretty much age appropriate for anyone. And this year I really had to glitz her up a bit. Stickles on her hat and star tassel and a strip of matallic star paper, which was a scrap from last year. Yes it is that time of year again. I have a friend that loves Halloween so much that she celebrates the whole month of October !! It is a fun holiday where you can really let your imagination "fly" !!<br /><br />I'll have some other creations for you shortly. I'm in the middle of some commission work and I'm liking what is coming out of my head !! LOL !! I sure hope that all of you do to.<br /><br />Have a great rest of the week.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-16338518400161456302008-08-26T11:22:00.002-05:002008-08-26T11:30:21.040-05:00Well, it looks as though I have become a once a month blogger !! Unbelievable how time just moves past us so quickly. Well, please accept my apologies - I promise to try and do better in the future.<br /><br />I have been stamping in my absense so it is not as if I have given up my love of the art. I have a few cards to show you and some stuff that we did at my classes. I hope you enjoy it all.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I can't post anything just yet because I'm at work. I know - shame on me for wasting the company's time doing my personal stuff. Well, I don't feel guilty, I always make up for it some how ! :)<br /><br />I do want to let you know that my dear friend Cindy, owner of Starlit Studio store, just moved from an Ebay store to a full fledged online store. I want to wish her much success with her new "digs" and I hope that each of you will go visit. I already placed an order and the site is easy to use and has lots of great stuff! Just use my link to get there and ENJOY !!<br /><br />Gotta go back to work now. I'll be back soon and post something pretty or fun or both ! :)<br />Thanks for your patience and for stopping by.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-15545889377777261312008-07-30T20:34:00.003-05:002008-07-30T20:48:02.443-05:00WoW!! I had no idea that it has been this long since I posted. I'm not sure there are many out there that notice but for those of you who do - I'm sorry for being such a slacker.<br /><br />I was lucky enough to attend CHA this year, with some very dear friends. It was quite an experience. I had a Carol DuVall spotting and I stared at Tim Holtz for awhile!! :) I met Nicole Heady of Papertrey Inc. and she is such a sweet lady. My friend Nancy and I did a lot of make and takes and oogled over many new products from many companies. It is incredible how this industry has grown in such a short time. It is almost overwhelming.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiry_3qxDjTtYzYLioVbMmoel7d2dew95Jf40ZRypvEEFYlfZm6HH0hRcpnEMOkT0AXdDz9qty3Y9p4u9qoZgsXR25uZvTjwV6VwjOIthV325vnBfdueAB6IXCARgsvzp9xYM-3Z1a8Nn/s1600-h/Cam's+Book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiry_3qxDjTtYzYLioVbMmoel7d2dew95Jf40ZRypvEEFYlfZm6HH0hRcpnEMOkT0AXdDz9qty3Y9p4u9qoZgsXR25uZvTjwV6VwjOIthV325vnBfdueAB6IXCARgsvzp9xYM-3Z1a8Nn/s200/Cam's+Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228987801564436962" border="0" /></a><br />So, now that I have recovered from the event - that was two weeks ago LOL !! I can try and get back on a posting routine. I have one more journal to show you. It was for a retirement at work and the lady that received it, I just knew would enjoy the humor of it. I was picking on her for retiring before me ! I didn't have much time to put this together but I'm happy with how it turned out and she did love it.<br /><br />That gorgeous ribbon is from Papertrey Inc. and it is such good quality. It is easy to tie and just gives a perfect finishing touch. The cute duck was from an image swap that I was in and the sentiment "You Lucky Duck" just fit the occasion.<br /><br />This was a fun project and I hope you enjoy seeing it here. Thanks for visiting.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-70797793138955724202008-07-12T11:18:00.004-05:002008-07-12T11:36:22.291-05:00<span style="font-family:georgia;">Well, we are all into the start of summer and it has been wonderful. I hope it has been good for all of you too. The weather has cooperated for the most part and it feels so good to be outside. We have had several evenings when we sat outside and enjoy a fire and believe it or not - even the mosquitoes have cooperated around here !! LOL !! They have been biting my DH more often than me and that is highly unusual.<br /><br />I did have a class last week and I just have to share with you the wonderful project that we worked on. We did the card keeper boxes. This is the first time that these two ladies have done anything like this and I'm so im</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUYHBsrB6_Y1jApFNud7BrpN4m8h3pIbeTnhELjvimJH6VjWkS_N8jAOkWalyqp3ge58_IG9xni61Yb2CbiuPkR1xIh_pIjEEFNieUC1gpwQS2HiAwTY1C3lnURd1fv2gTWtFaThOyujt/s1600-h/Class+Project+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUYHBsrB6_Y1jApFNud7BrpN4m8h3pIbeTnhELjvimJH6VjWkS_N8jAOkWalyqp3ge58_IG9xni61Yb2CbiuPkR1xIh_pIjEEFNieUC1gpwQS2HiAwTY1C3lnURd1fv2gTWtFaThOyujt/s200/Class+Project+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222163803735960354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">pressed with the outcome that I just have to share.<br /><br />Debbie's box is done in this great blue and green paisley with some green and yellow accents. The picture just dose not do it justice. It is so adorable. The ribbons are mostly SU and of course we added some Prima flowers and a few flower bling accent</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">s (every girl needs a bit of bling). The inside holds 12 divider tabs, on for each month.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqj7aomXgxOv6ZYqo578DkIGV7lHee_CLHchwI3Cx7pNfygHrsTePqeNe6W6D3y4pmoLHlBrcBg8AkdbI3Gum4sKhseK3LyeLSeGelrni-7j924QOQZvn0VX8RFYMrtQpwATeu9kPEs0q/s1600-h/Class+Project.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqj7aomXgxOv6ZYqo578DkIGV7lHee_CLHchwI3Cx7pNfygHrsTePqeNe6W6D3y4pmoLHlBrcBg8AkdbI3Gum4sKhseK3LyeLSeGelrni-7j924QOQZvn0VX8RFYMrtQpwATeu9kPEs0q/s200/Class+Project.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222164769789010978" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Nancy's box was done in chocolate and light turqu</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">oi</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">se. The ribbon she used was SU ribbon and Mayarts. The primas </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">a</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">nd jewels were added to this box too and just was the perfect finishing touch. She also put dividers on the inside an</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">d everything coordinates.<br /><br />I hope that these ladies get many years of use out of these adorable tins. I'm also so happy that they enjoyed making them. Now we will have a place to put all the cards we make at our other classes. I feel like a proud Mom when your children do so well that I just had to share !! :) <br /><br />Because these ladies are friends, I just brought a ton of stuff over and let them pick what they wanted. If I should do a class that is larger, I would pick out the papers and the coordinating embellishments and sell it as a package deal. It would make it much easier for both the student and me !! I have also discovered that when you give people too many choices they can't make a decision. That can take a lot of time. Your 3 hour class has just been doubled in time !! LOL !!<br /><br />Well, I'm off to do some shopping - hope you all enjoy your weekend.<br /><br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-17832281476120274852008-07-03T17:43:00.005-05:002008-07-03T18:22:59.257-05:00Gift Journals<span style="font-family:georgia;">Hi All - I hope that you are enjoying the wonderful weather and looking forward to the 4th holiday. I'm having a BBQ on the 5th and I'm really looking forward to it. Family and friends will gather in my yard and we will talk, laugh, eat and drink and just enjoy the day. I'm really in the mood for that interaction - can't wait.<br /><br />I think my anticipation for my BBQ on the 5th might be because of the tension that I have experienced at work these days. A few of my best friends just lost their jobs and their last day at work was this past Tuesday. I was struggling</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> as to what to give them as gifts and I decided that I would make them journals. We had been talking about sketch journals (two of them are good customers of mine as well) and gratitude journals, to help them through this difficult layoff. They had about 30 years with the company, combined, and their whole depart</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTc9VsjTpx695rRG7yTRA8x_khGWpoL_mLy4mPzLa5cNLSi4Zan1He1W_zP0ohzBITOEnfKV3te4LaBgggiH2CHGccNTfcqp8rkSVDXow7V-15tSkP9Fb9NhzHB0ONdf5gR7zBsLmaocd/s1600-h/Debbie's+Book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTc9VsjTpx695rRG7yTRA8x_khGWpoL_mLy4mPzLa5cNLSi4Zan1He1W_zP0ohzBITOEnfKV3te4LaBgggiH2CHGccNTfcqp8rkSVDXow7V-15tSkP9Fb9NhzHB0ONdf5gR7zBsLmaocd/s200/Debbie's+Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218926695423780690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">ment was eliminated. So here is what I came up with.<br /><br />This one is for my dear friend Debbie. Her and I have worked together for my entire career at the airline and she will be missed.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aOhkxlWbF3ODTeJoRYztTI0pAVTqYuyXsm5gE5AC4t_Ydrz7T4yu8SZVjTYNZ75BIaw4wrZN-1nMlJnQkAFD3G_KvXt9K1Y9vRlqexUU8E319feu_iTW2gPa93EDFn1fCdRc9vATgN1P/s1600-h/Nancy's+Book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aOhkxlWbF3ODTeJoRYztTI0pAVTqYuyXsm5gE5AC4t_Ydrz7T4yu8SZVjTYNZ75BIaw4wrZN-1nMlJnQkAFD3G_KvXt9K1Y9vRlqexUU8E319feu_iTW2gPa93EDFn1fCdRc9vATgN1P/s200/Nancy's+Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218927874037522066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> However, because we enjoy getting together monthly to stamp, she will always be a part of my life.<br /><br />This next one is for my </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">friend Nancy. I knew that green was the color for Debbie but I was at a bit of a loss for Nancy. I think that she likes all colors !! So when I found this Basic Grey paper in my stash, I just knew that it would work for her.<br /><br />Now the next one is the one that disturbs me the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCsy9rUqFYEuZA014sSIbJcu0CZ-xcFH2txiZwAowOl4ACRZ-6ezhdpMK2YZJXcXUsr6tHH9Tf4InEI3lsgFy-13S4LxNhqWYZhG7qpNTvYEbP0I0HXVg1s1kC8wCFRvdfs9lp98S-VJX/s1600-h/Jill's+Book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCsy9rUqFYEuZA014sSIbJcu0CZ-xcFH2txiZwAowOl4ACRZ-6ezhdpMK2YZJXcXUsr6tHH9Tf4InEI3lsgFy-13S4LxNhqWYZhG7qpNTvYEbP0I0HXVg1s1kC8wCFRvdfs9lp98S-VJX/s200/Jill's+Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218928890126401154" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">most. Even though we laughed real hard about it and Jill didn't want me to change a thing, I'm still disturbed by it. Can you see the error ?? Yep, you got it - I put her initial on backwards !! Can you believe it. The best part of it is that the book was shown to about 12 people and only 1 person noticed it !! I cannot believe how I can do that and I wasn't rushed when making them. <a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/puzzledsmile.gif" border="0" /></a> Well dear Jill, if you read this - just tell everyone that I took creative license with the alphabet !! Or you could say that it is one of those funny looking t's and you just changed your name to Till !! I love you anyway and I hope that you find a good use for your mixed up journal !!<br /><br />All journals are made with Basic Grey paper, Papertray Ribbon and the pages inside are cut from Neenah Bright White cardstock. The Bind-It-All is what I used to put them together. Chip board diecuts are from Stampin'Up.<br /><br />Well, I hope you enjoy the journals and I truly hope that you enjoy your holiday weekend.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/4thsmiles.gif" border="0" /></a></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-68126284305463952182008-06-25T15:35:00.002-05:002008-06-25T15:48:07.565-05:00<span style="font-family:georgia;">I must <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">apologize</span> for my absence. My household has been a bit hectic and it has taken me forever to get back to my stamp room. I was up there last night and made a cute journal for a co-worker who is retiring - unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it. Hopefully I'll be able to do that tomorrow. Tonight I have to make a sympathy card - I always procrastinate on those because if it is for someone I care about, I have to be careful of tears falling on my work !! But, it will get done and I'll feel better for doing it.</span><br /><br />I have also had major computer problems. I think most of it is fixed now and it looks like I won't have to consider a new computer purchase for at least another year. So, for now I'm up and running and should be able to come back here a little more often than I have. I'm just a very bad blogger - need to correct that sometime soon !! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">LOL</span> !!<br /><br />I did manage to get my raised flower bed in (with most of the work being done by my husband and son). I still need more flowers, but I have to say it looks pretty good. My whole yard would finally be shaping up but unfortunately, I lost two trees. One from a terrible storm that we had and the other just didn't survive the winter. The big one won't be coming down until fall and I'm sure I'm going to cry over that one. It is my shade tree in the back yard. The little one is an ornamental tree in the front yard. It was a Rose of Sharon and I'm looking for something a bit hardier that can withstand our winters. It's amazing how this past winter has put us so far behind. Most of our major garden work is done in May, however, we had nothing but rain every time we had a day off!! Mother Nature sure played a lot of tricks on us this year.<br /><br />So that is what it has been like in my household. I'll post some pictures soon, now that the ole '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">puter</span> is up and running !!<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-24645111940388502982008-06-07T10:44:00.002-05:002008-06-07T11:04:50.521-05:00<span style="font-family:georgia;">Hi all, I hope you are enjoying your Saturday. It is hot, muggy but sunny here and after the horrendous winter and terrible spring, I guess we can't ask for anything more.<br /><br />I have a couple of projects to show you that I put together for my class in May. Yes, I know, I'm a bit behind. But what the hey - there is not expiration date on creativity !! :) This is a card tote that have been done by many. I'm pretty sure that this</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa7UlCYPB-j5wirM-Gyh4z26SCwNVNjkAWgCluCUgp1QW5y5kEkkGGqfRcotkpAr2KFOEeZem-5IjQdVt68Xu9I975k3tCQx7qxuwujwSvc5A3L2M4PqU3oZ6QuhxsEfW1aXi5Q9TFfge/s1600-h/Card+Tote+%26+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa7UlCYPB-j5wirM-Gyh4z26SCwNVNjkAWgCluCUgp1QW5y5kEkkGGqfRcotkpAr2KFOEeZem-5IjQdVt68Xu9I975k3tCQx7qxuwujwSvc5A3L2M4PqU3oZ6QuhxsEfW1aXi5Q9TFfge/s200/Card+Tote+%26+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209166713565307698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> version came from my friend Val, who got it from our friend Mish, who expanded the version from something she saw done by our friend Cami !! LOL !! When you are surrounded by so much talent, it starts to blend together. I can only say how thankful I am for </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">all three of these ladies and you will be too if you visit their blogs. All of them are listed on the right side of my blog.<br /><br />This is a cute little tote that holds 4 cards with envelopes quite nicely. Makes an adorable gift for most anyone. I used the tart and tangy set from the May Occassions mini. I absolutely love this set. I also used the matching designer paper called Summer Picnic. All products in this project are Stampin' Up with the exception of the Prima flowers. Hint: I wanted the flowers (there are two of them) to be more dimentional so I took the bottom one and turned it upside down. This made the petals curl towards the background where the top flower curls away from the card stock. Turns out really cute and perky.<br /><br />Well, I'm off to get stuff together for the garage sale next week. Enjoy your weekend and I hope there is sun where you are living.<br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-41402349978012330832008-06-01T10:24:00.008-05:002008-06-01T11:09:35.434-05:00Okay, first I will apologize to my few followers for not having posted for awhile. Things have been a bit crazy around here and unfortunately, not a lot of stamping has gone one !! :( And, just so you all know - I miss it terribly. I had a horrific day yesterday, running around doing errands for other members of my family. I had to complete my shower gift (for the mother of twins - invite posted earlier) and I didn't get into my stamp room until 2:30 in the afternoon. Then of course, I was interrupted for dinner and a neighbor came over with some delicious homemade ginger snap cookies that she made, and that meant another break. I'm not protesting - the cookies are wonderful and I'm always willing to take a break - but I sure was cramped for time.<br /><br />With that said, I'm still very happy with how my present turned out. Here are the pics of the finished product.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8fngKy6ft4gnlDccYJimVLVSgvVomB4loLE_1XfX63-QVVj5_RMt3lH19YZl3oJ1QpriMU9V5zG0x86irQRP_5h36xJ6hA5wcaBn4JpJdR1z5Eg8BNKwNcB9vfdq2Q2c0saarNt0LkFZ/s1600-h/Complete+Gift.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8fngKy6ft4gnlDccYJimVLVSgvVomB4loLE_1XfX63-QVVj5_RMt3lH19YZl3oJ1QpriMU9V5zG0x86irQRP_5h36xJ6hA5wcaBn4JpJdR1z5Eg8BNKwNcB9vfdq2Q2c0saarNt0LkFZ/s200/Complete+Gift.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206942048752927346" border="0" /></a>The package on the right are the thank you cards that I made for the Mom to be. The cards match the invitation with the same Basic Grey designer paper. The cute little box is the egg box from Papertrey. Unfortunately, I couldn't use the egg insert because I bought baby leg warmers and they were too bulky for that detail. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with this cute box, go to Papertrey.com and view Nicole Heady's site - you will see some amazing stuff). I also included two bibs that are from Midwest Airlines that say "Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumb Catcher" !! :)<br /><br />The card on top of the box is made with the new baby set from Papertrey. Love that set. The book in back is a Shel Silverstein book. If you haven't read any of his books, I highly recommend them. They are wonderful children's books that I still enjoy reading.<br /><br />Here are some close ups of the items.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqiKe2869lyIPzZRqDvAiJYVLiwm401x7NFLIfCwlt4KIMTxWfV4tSG5jAlWoLMb76soTiYUyrD7Egg5fR45CPi9tuUhykACKAX9oysJUQL1dZm7pSpoVUqCtIIz8aOPYI1Tw-5pA31aY/s1600-h/Gift+Box.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqiKe2869lyIPzZRqDvAiJYVLiwm401x7NFLIfCwlt4KIMTxWfV4tSG5jAlWoLMb76soTiYUyrD7Egg5fR45CPi9tuUhykACKAX9oysJUQL1dZm7pSpoVUqCtIIz8aOPYI1Tw-5pA31aY/s200/Gift+Box.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206943929948603026" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEFCcXkthl-6gfREr_5OJza_nM0wwsv-NCCTHQ1nReMlxDzXY8XpV0puvRwJesAFSAB4SIEChubA2PmRjQPnzWpcqIGczpibSX13iH0ZjvIGCVQipi2z9HtxdcrAImx7osoNfYTVo8_b7/s1600-h/Thank+You+Cards.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEFCcXkthl-6gfREr_5OJza_nM0wwsv-NCCTHQ1nReMlxDzXY8XpV0puvRwJesAFSAB4SIEChubA2PmRjQPnzWpcqIGczpibSX13iH0ZjvIGCVQipi2z9HtxdcrAImx7osoNfYTVo8_b7/s200/Thank+You+Cards.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206944093157360290" border="0" /></a>I hope you enjoy my projects and I hope the Mom to be does too.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64_6_HHtQ2VesDFZRjz9TEYbbVoOXToKKHtIVXcr1gC2cSpznkQfKzakamyLazg_oU95R2LeaGWjE5zI7YvtxX4sNgY3KZLs8qmCg9Z38ufwy19bAEKZBCy9FBRQEgxuFapq4tzK9aT4t/s1600-h/Shower+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64_6_HHtQ2VesDFZRjz9TEYbbVoOXToKKHtIVXcr1gC2cSpznkQfKzakamyLazg_oU95R2LeaGWjE5zI7YvtxX4sNgY3KZLs8qmCg9Z38ufwy19bAEKZBCy9FBRQEgxuFapq4tzK9aT4t/s200/Shower+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206944385215136434" border="0" /></a><br />I will be back soon with some class cards that I made and I actually did an SCS Challenge !! But, I'll keep you in suspense with that one !! LOL !!<br /><br />Have a great Sunday everyone.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-15150454295608646432008-05-18T21:17:00.005-05:002008-05-18T21:49:14.840-05:00<span style="font-size:85%;">Hi All - sorry that it has taken me so long to post. I get involved with these projects and I have a hard time concentrating on anything else. There was a time when I could do 5 things at once but I guess that ability dwindles with age !! LOL !! I have a friend that I think was trying to get me to post again because she made it a point to say that she was checking my blog <span style="font-weight: bold;">hourly </span>to see if I had done anything yet !! I guess that hint was pretty subtle, don't you think? Thanks Lana, I've been obsessing ever since. Now that I'm posting, I may be able to sleep better. Ha, ha, ha !!<br /><br />Well, I finished the graduation announcements that I was commissioned to do, by a coworker. I sure hope that the graduate and her Mom like them. Excusing all sense of modesty, I really like them !! LOL !! That is really a good thing because it sure is hard to work on something that you don't like !!<br /><br />The school colors are black and red so I decided for a black card base and accent with red matting. I r<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVRBXJV76euCnFh42Sv_1Pk9bwzh1yRIxI04yT71i-9lk1qKLyf36o-0Rnkv4kOHsZd8nB1DIlCF-1c8CPhyphenhyphenzzRKM_FtYmO8DXRXoN2tDULsowV7Lr05vhCD1FBR9OrZt3Cy3bM6R0edw/s1600-h/Graduation+Card+Front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVRBXJV76euCnFh42Sv_1Pk9bwzh1yRIxI04yT71i-9lk1qKLyf36o-0Rnkv4kOHsZd8nB1DIlCF-1c8CPhyphenhyphenzzRKM_FtYmO8DXRXoN2tDULsowV7Lr05vhCD1FBR9OrZt3Cy3bM6R0edw/s200/Graduation+Card+Front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201911251580253762" border="0" /></a> wanted to do the lettering in gold leaf on the front but I was running into a lot of complications. My glue pad dried up and I didn't have a refill, I didn't have the right size alpha stamps and I didn't have the right Cricut cartridge so the alpha didn't work !! I vacillated about this for two weeks which really put me behind.<br /><br />So, I decided to just print it out on the computer. I'm so glad I did. I had to make 25 and doing the gold leaf or the embossing would have been way too time consuming. With the right font on the computer, it looks a lot more professional too.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hint</span>: When you are printing a verse off of the computer and need to trim down to fit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngf62XdZKTwHl5dkfkxPRDMaAbczzFu4LySsRMXafgYIbDetKAIRvfONBjULDR0UC43QCPR0KlT3ByuwnfBoKGAozd0VBG-tuQ-MmTVG7azx54593wPYjL9GfifGoL298jjLjPZ8n2kPE/s1600-h/Graduation+Card+Inside+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngf62XdZKTwHl5dkfkxPRDMaAbczzFu4LySsRMXafgYIbDetKAIRvfONBjULDR0UC43QCPR0KlT3ByuwnfBoKGAozd0VBG-tuQ-MmTVG7azx54593wPYjL9GfifGoL298jjLjPZ8n2kPE/s200/Graduation+Card+Inside+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201911852875675218" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> a card, insert a dialog box around your verse. I'm working in Microsoft Word when I do this. Make sure that it is about 1/8 inch larger (use the ruler guides on the left and top of the viewing area) than what the final piece needs to be. That way you will be trimming them all the same size and you can trim away the dialog box and no one will<br />know !!</span><br /><br />So, here is the card front and inside. On the inside I also put a 3" x 4" matt and I used the slot punch in the upper right had corner. I adhered it to the top of the inside of the card and this is where the graduation picture can be inserted. It won't fall out but the receiver can take it out easily.<br /><br />I also used some simple flourishes that came from two different Papertrey sets. I stamped them in gold metallic because I just wanted to add a bit of pizazz. The white paper is Neenah bright white card stock - love this paper and it is really a pure white. Black and red paper is Stampin' Up. I also used my Scor-Pal to do ridge line around the perimeter of both the front piece and the inside piece. I think it steps it up just a bit in overall design.<br /><br />Well, I hope you like it. I also had a class this past week. I'll post those creations soon. I hope everyone has a great week and I hope we all have wonderful Spring weather to enjoy.<br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-72584378082928458242008-05-03T18:11:00.006-05:002008-05-03T19:01:56.524-05:00So, I last posted the baby shower invite that I was working on. Well, last Sunday I went to the "Grandma to be" (Jody) house and with another friend (Marge) and "Auntie to be" (Katie), we were going to assemble all of the invitations. Well, I put Marge on the Cuttlebug die cutting process (mostly because she hate tying bows). She had to cut 100 little scallop circles and 50 large scallop circles and emboss the cuff of the card. I put Jody on adhering the designer paper to the already scored and embossed, card base. Katie was to wrap the favor boxes with designer paper. As for me, I had already cut the paper and was scoring the card base and I cute the inside invitation as well as did all the bows.<br /><br />Well, the plan was all set except I wasn't counting on Katie bringing her two kittens over so that Marge, the cat fanatic, could meet them. We all ogled over the baby, which has only been with Katie for 4 days. Then we started working. For awhile the little guy was sitting on the back of Katie's neck and he looked like a fur boa !! Absolutely adorable. But the he started to explore. The older kitty (excuse me but I don't remember their names), decided to just jump up on top of the cab<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv8XpIjZ8SlK-NJ7_E8lIUFW3USedzH0_VkzXDyE0SHNMvCTii9wE90tVsUU8ARjzUh8eQd3JoniW2_I4YpgWUVsOVJEJMW-cWcwcgZQDEUnRoRHLqr2kFwBlQZlIe-qvj8PTytroU0_M/s1600-h/Copy+of+DSC01047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv8XpIjZ8SlK-NJ7_E8lIUFW3USedzH0_VkzXDyE0SHNMvCTii9wE90tVsUU8ARjzUh8eQd3JoniW2_I4YpgWUVsOVJEJMW-cWcwcgZQDEUnRoRHLqr2kFwBlQZlIe-qvj8PTytroU0_M/s200/Copy+of+DSC01047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196296595564889058" border="0" /></a>inets in the laundry room. Here are a couple of pics that I took of this little st<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pDggYker7xZjNqQRzbrYgsJLAlzUAJ0VjEeQPdtTrVUfE0dvrufMhG9mieRRDRakFChf0PO5j7hW-gHureCjQ1iU3Tc8-WjShyUsjkMQjSwCIgaz_RdBcSFOeWGFuhps9FgtCf1AdXtO/s1600-h/Copy+of+DSC01046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pDggYker7xZjNqQRzbrYgsJLAlzUAJ0VjEeQPdtTrVUfE0dvrufMhG9mieRRDRakFChf0PO5j7hW-gHureCjQ1iU3Tc8-WjShyUsjkMQjSwCIgaz_RdBcSFOeWGFuhps9FgtCf1AdXtO/s200/Copy+of+DSC01046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196296921982403570" border="0" /></a>inker. He was just happier than a pig in mud up there. We all made a fuss and he did stay up there for awhile. In the meantime the little kitty becomes MIA. I had to run home because I forgot one of the dies (why can I never pack everything??? I write it down but there is usually a missing item - UGH !! ) When I returned the first thing everyone asked me is "did you see the little cat run out the door when you left?" <br /><br />Well, let me tell you, my heart sank. I could not imagine being the cause of the disappearing cat. Poor Katie was in tears. We rang the doorbell (my cat comes running if he hears the doorbell - weird I know), Katie walked around with a squeaky toy. She had a flashlight and looked under everything, in every closet, in the basement rec room, absolutely everywhere. Then she started outside, talked with the neighbors, looked in bushes, up trees. Marge was even banging on the hood of her car just to make sure that he didn't crawl up inside of her car !! A neighbor walked by and made a point to say, "you need a key to start that car !!" Oh the humiliation we will deal with when it comes to our "pets" !<br /><br />Needless to say, card production basically came to a standstill. The mood was a little gloomy. Katie couldn't go home and tell her boyfriend that she came back with one less cat !! Oh, what to do, what to do ??<br /><br />The phone rang. Jody picked it up and was talking with her other daughter (Kelly - Mama to be). Jody was walking around while talking - not adhering designer paper as she was instructed. She walks past the powder room and started straightening the hand towels and futzing around when all of a sudden we<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO9X4M9hyXzBmLpz-TILc_AxH3bcqRD8L3EsArYCHHWHUJyextJGthZ9RQlGwV1oWBgvHn1ErMJ1YhmNQZiGF7tmVTAILEGMVvMIQRezqX5yaKQpOj7s39bH2L2XC3rJLfZMCPJR1wzZf/s1600-h/Katie's+Cat+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO9X4M9hyXzBmLpz-TILc_AxH3bcqRD8L3EsArYCHHWHUJyextJGthZ9RQlGwV1oWBgvHn1ErMJ1YhmNQZiGF7tmVTAILEGMVvMIQRezqX5yaKQpOj7s39bH2L2XC3rJLfZMCPJR1wzZf/s200/Katie's+Cat+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196301053740942338" border="0" /></a> hear, "I found the cat!!" You will never believe where this little one decided to take a nap. Can you see that little stinker on that shelf? He didn't even move the hand soap to get back there. That shelf is only about 6"wide an<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_TZ1JmwIbbI6RMxb9GIRf3qIvYr7qdoZnu-dX4s9vp5c8PVCW_AYXOg7AKINvu8xXhYXgOF9lZEJqobHGWYvw1dUasG1_-uxrNHPTc3Iv6yAguVMlU3IZSu4LjQov_2gBzbz_0YY16Hs/s1600-h/Katie's+Cat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_TZ1JmwIbbI6RMxb9GIRf3qIvYr7qdoZnu-dX4s9vp5c8PVCW_AYXOg7AKINvu8xXhYXgOF9lZEJqobHGWYvw1dUasG1_-uxrNHPTc3Iv6yAguVMlU3IZSu4LjQov_2gBzbz_0YY16Hs/s200/Katie's+Cat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196301487532639250" border="0" /></a>d about 5" deep. You can see a closer look at the picture on the right. The best part was, we made a lot of noise - 4 women in a small powder room exclaiming over Jody's discovery - and that little s$$t never even woke up !! Can you believe it ?<br /><br />So, we started our card production at about 11:30 a.m. and did not conclude until about 8:00 p.m. No thanks to the 2 hours of slow down created by one tiny little kitten !! Needless to say, the favors are not completed. Thank goodness we don't need them until the day before the shower !! :)<br /><br />So, hopefully I will have a card to post for you next time. I just couldn't let this story go without some "cat" recognition. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-40524332139615076362008-04-26T20:16:00.003-05:002008-04-26T20:40:07.509-05:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >I'm back and I can't begin to tell you where the time goes. Life just keeps interrupting my stamping time - but then I know we all go through the same thing. Anyway, all is good and I've been working on baby shower invitations, for a Friend's daughter. The best part is, she is expecting twins - a boy and a girl. The invites and the party favors will be done tomorrow. Grandma and Aunt to be and a good friend are helping me to assemble the 50 invites and the 50 favors. I think it will go pretty smoothly because the invite itself is pretty simple - even though it took me about 6 tries before I was happy with the results. Here it is.<br /></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdBt-aJJmMSs-uOqOz0mMTXw6xDMAbrLt3ImM-0RwuKHXNEVhDOQ5HOSXnNRmghOKMNVfZRCgZtcnUwwKt69Xnahq_b63ueMjkxoIV5Hdz4uuCB-hWXm1MV3dSX-mFD6yE00uUz0T9YPA/s1600-h/shower+invite+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdBt-aJJmMSs-uOqOz0mMTXw6xDMAbrLt3ImM-0RwuKHXNEVhDOQ5HOSXnNRmghOKMNVfZRCgZtcnUwwKt69Xnahq_b63ueMjkxoIV5Hdz4uuCB-hWXm1MV3dSX-mFD6yE00uUz0T9YPA/s200/shower+invite+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193730313950823378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The paper is from Basic Grey - Oh Baby Girl. I just love these elephants. I was very excited when I found this paper at Archiver's because it is last years design. I was working with the elephant stamp and no matter how I colored it, I just couldn't make it coordinate with the paper. Then one night at about 2:30 in the morning, I decided that I should just stamp the elephant on the scraps of the designer paper and then cut him out !! It worked great. Amazing how those sleepy thoughts can work out so well !! LOL !!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We haven't decided yet if we are going to use the "It's a boy, It's a girl" medallion's. I figure that maybe we will come up with a brainstorm tomorrow. I used the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss embossing template (from Electic Paperie) for the fold over cuff. The scalloped circle is done with Nestabilities dies (from Ellen Hutson). </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The inside invitation start out with "Double the Diapers, Double the Pins, Double the Onesies, Hurray they're Having Twins ! I copied this for the stamp set in SU Occasions mini, By Ones and By Twos. I just rephrased the last line to make it more original. I think it works.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Well, I hope you like this invitation and mostly, I hope Mom and Dad to be will like it. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.</span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-78509282745086371092008-04-17T19:55:00.004-05:002008-04-17T20:18:54.760-05:00<span style="font-family:georgia;">I am such a terrible blogger!! I have to be enthused about what I'm posting and obviously, I have not been too enthusiastic lately !! And then I come on here and see the I got 7 comments just over my computer crisis and they are all from very dear friends !! So I apologize to each of you for not giving you any where near as much inspiration as you all give me on a daily basis.<br /><br />I don't have anything real new to post. I have been working feverishly on the invites to a baby shower. The mother to be is a daughter of a good friend, so I want them to be special. She is having twins - one boy and one girl. That in itself is exciting, but I want the invites and shower favors to be special too. When I come up with the way I want them, I'll post. In the meantime I'll post a couple of cards that I did awhile back but I still like the way they turned out.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5o_C6G3GW2QPA-iS3fxK3r-Ll-nLOmT1iprX-pt13MLgzY6Kfps9OrAo5Y4vAb270rjG8TdWEUpI5a9Y02cJ_-ULuAt_tJMatmnYkMn_LItH14jEXjL9-HylCdXmVK3X6tdWaYJF1G2X/s1600-h/Marties+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5o_C6G3GW2QPA-iS3fxK3r-Ll-nLOmT1iprX-pt13MLgzY6Kfps9OrAo5Y4vAb270rjG8TdWEUpI5a9Y02cJ_-ULuAt_tJMatmnYkMn_LItH14jEXjL9-HylCdXmVK3X6tdWaYJF1G2X/s200/Marties+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190386419957286098" border="0" /></a><br />I've always liked this stamp set from SU. It says exactly what you want to say in just a couple of words. This was one of the first square cards I did and I really like them. Still don't understand why they cost more in postage. I have complained to my DH but then he is just a carrier of the mail and does not have the ability to change policy - at least that is what he keeps telling me !! LOL.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2reh4O8zeEr8dtAm1NbgGQfFULE1B79ib25dKNTULvj7CLpcCITNuKShhH1OHqXAW-tQu1ocDNKZKFoBz5L1rvhzJKLkucJS0B-pwBYNpRSCWNcfnVVUuUz19vpGDyU9w1xfv7sJ8FVN/s1600-h/Marties+Gift.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2reh4O8zeEr8dtAm1NbgGQfFULE1B79ib25dKNTULvj7CLpcCITNuKShhH1OHqXAW-tQu1ocDNKZKFoBz5L1rvhzJKLkucJS0B-pwBYNpRSCWNcfnVVUuUz19vpGDyU9w1xfv7sJ8FVN/s200/Marties+Gift.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190387506584012002" border="0" /></a><br />Anyway, I accompanied this with a post a note holder. This design came from either Val, Mish or Lana. These three ladies give me constant inspiration but this is where I play the old card. I don't remember which one started this trend - sorry ladies !! It makes a really cute gift, which this was for a co-worker's birthday. I know she enjoyed it because the holder is hanging in her cubie at work, needing another post a note pad. I forgot to mention that this was for a larger pad that was lined - the kind that companies usually do not supply !! Maybe this year for her birthday I'll just get her another pad !! LOL !!<br /><br />Well, this will have to tide you over for now. I'll be working in my room all weekend and I hope to have some fresh stuff for you next week. Thanks for stopping by ladies, it's nice to know that my blog is visited !! :)<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-5350157414753804892008-04-10T19:27:00.002-05:002008-04-10T19:56:22.198-05:00Holy Moly !! I was in a computer crisis the last 4 days!!<a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/lousyputer.gif" border="0" /></a> I used my computer on Sunday morning and then Sunday evening it was all wonky and wouldn't let me do anything. I tried again on Monday and it was worse. I tried calling a computer intelligent friend and didn't get an answer. Talked to several people at work and one of our IT guys said he didn't think it was a virus. I was only a little relieved because we were still unsure. <br /><br />So, my dilemma was do I call Dell and be on the phone for hours only to talk to someone I don't understand, and feeling like the problem would never be resolved or take it into Milwaukee PC and get it over with. I went to Milwaukee PC and it was great that I did. He knew what was wrong in about 20 minutes and fixed it and we picked it up the next morning!! <a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/awwsmiley.gif" border="0" /></a>So, I worried about a virus and it was just a video card!! Yea !! I really didn't want to have to buy a new computer this month - and I certainly can't life without one !! LOL !!<br /><br />I'll be back this weekend with some creation that I'll be working on !! <br /><div style="text-align: center;">Have a great weekend everyone !<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/fridaysmiley.gif" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-14146657874259108112008-04-06T13:47:00.005-05:002008-04-06T14:58:19.999-05:00<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" >Happy Spring Everyone !! <a href="http://www.millan.net/"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/springsmile.gif" border="0" /></a><br />Isn't it wonderful when the sun shines. No matter what is going on in my life, the sun really helps to make everything feel so much better. It just makes you want to smile and that makes everyone around you smile too !! Good Bye winter - we have had enough of you!<br /><br />Well, my last post was for a friend that challenged us to wish her a Happy Birthday on our blogs. I just had to accommodate. She is the coolest person and she can write a tall tale that will keep you in suspense for</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" > weeks. Many of us in our stamping group would love it if she had a blog and contributed to it weekly, but we have not been successful in getting her to do tha</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" >t. So for now, I will have to be happy with the snippets that she leaves behind for us, <span style="font-style: italic;">once in awhile. <span style="font-size:78%;">(I know she is going to read this so I had to add that !!)<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, we had our last stamp camp of the season and it was a huge success !! We had 23 attendees and I really think that these ladies are getting down to a routine. My flyer said that the stamp camp would be from 12 to 5 and everyone was done before 4. We even had a few late comers and they managed to finish too !! The reason that it was the last of the season is because we have this wonderful location at a garden center. Melinda and her husband are nice enough to allow us to use their facility, which has wonderful lighting and plenty of room for us. Because their busy season is coming up, we now have to wait until fall for our next camp. No problem, we all like to take a break during summer - not from stamping, just from events.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pipG35hGrLhCcNgY9fSjccooNqLDpW-wlPKPZIWUkE3ky9n7as6ozAQCpEjYmcaYbI4ZilI_HHEuyg9DI2C3TjgDhVCcpIqueIglFjpUmCwKKPQwJ7dB7swhc_vS5rAXANat6gFGsh2K/s1600-h/3-08+Stamp+Camp+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pipG35hGrLhCcNgY9fSjccooNqLDpW-wlPKPZIWUkE3ky9n7as6ozAQCpEjYmcaYbI4ZilI_HHEuyg9DI2C3TjgDhVCcpIqueIglFjpUmCwKKPQwJ7dB7swhc_vS5rAXANat6gFGsh2K/s200/3-08+Stamp+Camp+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186217353623211266" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here are the</span></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> cards that I had for the stamp camp. This first one is a 3"x6" size. It is a very fun size and if you are a gift card or check gift giver, they both would fit in here perfectly. You would just need to make a pocket on the inside for them. This is just a note card and the Thank you saying on the front comes from the new Occasions Mini catalog from SU. The designer paper is Bali Breeze which I teamed up with So Saffron and Taken with Teal cardstock. The organdy ribbon is from SU and has been retired.</span><br /><br /></span></span></span><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtl4MlkoWHRc19xdG7DuIl0ZYzonJXgUgxU8KJu_HVyywK6PCVpnLQba4AELNZWuo7-pSUl3rRkCJv66Zfo0reepfC6ZDDcFz5VsZLKQHRXfdQ6bmjTgaXIXgePYP46i24CCw2tIg_xtl/s1600-h/3-08+Stamp+Camp+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtl4MlkoWHRc19xdG7DuIl0ZYzonJXgUgxU8KJu_HVyywK6PCVpnLQba4AELNZWuo7-pSUl3rRkCJv66Zfo0reepfC6ZDDcFz5VsZLKQHRXfdQ6bmjTgaXIXgePYP46i24CCw2tIg_xtl/s200/3-08+Stamp+Camp+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186218878336601362" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The second card I had so much fun making. The set is Tart and Tangy from the Occasions Mini. I wanted something full of that sunshine that we all so need about now. Because we were going to have about 3 other cards at the stamp camp using this set, I decided to make limes, knowing that would not be everyones first choice. That way I wouldn't have to worry about duplicating anyone else's efforts. The limes were done in Certainly Celery and I used Summer Sun for the base of the cards. The matting was done in Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie. The designer paper is Summer Picnic, which matches perfectly with this Tart and Tangy set. Ribbon is May Arts which I got from Startlitstudio (link to store is on the right).</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Well, I hope you enjoyed these cards and I hope that you try out these layouts. They both are easy to mass produce and you can change out the sentiments to accommodate your needs. I'm off to enjoy the sun streaming in my house. Hope you have the opportunity to do the same. It really will make you smile !! <a href="http://www.millan.net/"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/yellow1.gif" border="0" /></a></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-13522663684205800472008-04-03T16:48:00.002-06:002008-04-03T16:53:34.907-06:00Darthy's Birthday Spectacular !!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/toolminis/celeb_walkcake1t.gif" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/hapbirthdays.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">This greeting of birthday wishes if for a special friend who is celebrating the </span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-size:78%;" >10th</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"> anniversary of her 39th Birthday !! </span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">I do have that right, don't I Darthy ?? </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-size:180%;" >I hope your day was filled with Love and Surprises !!</span><br /></span></div>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-72970732416832777822008-03-24T17:49:00.004-06:002008-03-24T18:36:10.722-06:00Easter Sunday Production<span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, Easter Sunday was pretty uneventful in our house. My one son was working and my other lives in Indiana and was just here a couple of weeks ago. At the cost of gas - and they are both always broke - I said that we wouldn't make a big deal out of Easter dinner. Little did they know that my husband Adrian and I did. We put a leg of lamb on the grill and had baked potatoes and fresh asparagus. It was one of the best meals we have had at home, in a long time. Good thing we liked it too because we will be eating lamb for about 3 more meals !! LOL !!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">So because that meal was so easy, I spent the biggest part of my day stamping, after I took my friend Marge to the airport for her yearly phoenix trip. She goes to 88 deg. weather and leaves me with 12" of snow !! So I went upstairs with good intentions on getting everything done, but I'm really not a "speed" stamper. I have a stamp camp this Saturday and haven't started those projects yet but I managed to get my birthday cards done. I'm surrounded by Aries and that has been quite a challenge in my life !! Oh well, most of the time it is just fine and they all will get their cards on time for a change !! Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!</span><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DiQ_I6JvoipbjTbMpgwDPKG_rY31jCGbUAB19rRYjklOGw-IvNjhuzwmNOQazGaMSjsbhr3bgLmLMy-F9s9NEej0Qz-luZmxjFkjDe1rUlQmF3U-sSI9w786VwEhe6TzC_NdVGKZxfgy/s1600-h/Birthday+Cards.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DiQ_I6JvoipbjTbMpgwDPKG_rY31jCGbUAB19rRYjklOGw-IvNjhuzwmNOQazGaMSjsbhr3bgLmLMy-F9s9NEej0Qz-luZmxjFkjDe1rUlQmF3U-sSI9w786VwEhe6TzC_NdVGKZxfgy/s200/Birthday+Cards.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181461480501775586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first group of cards all have the same base and stamped image but they are assembled slightly differently. The card base is SU Soft Sky with the next layer in Apricot. This piece I ran through my Cuttle Bug with the new dotted swiss embossing template (purchased from Electic Paperie) - oh how I love this embossing template. I'm sure I'll be using it a lot more in the future. My image by Stampendous (also from Electic Paperie) was stamped on SU Whisper White except for one. To be truthful, I didn't have any more remnants of white left over so I used the apricot !! <a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/rolleye.gif" border="0" /></a> I used Sky at the matt and on the Apricot image I added a layer of white just to kick it up a notch. On the upper two cards I used the ribbon as the corners. The ribbon, brads and flowers are all from Starlitstudio. If you haven't checked out Cindy's inventory, use the link at the right and get going. There is a lot there to see and like and you will NEED it !! LOL !!</span><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF94i6exlX2818ajmKW0EV0lcdO06upNam2Wh27tF5o1dmzHJRvIWoE1HrdEsEXwfUe_WmjIQmoAatMUqfhqzgi2NLkN8nvKhvXF0zKrUgA9F0OZScTeKSMzmlP4pB4N-a8-zLGk58RBEi/s1600-h/Birthday+Cards+2A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF94i6exlX2818ajmKW0EV0lcdO06upNam2Wh27tF5o1dmzHJRvIWoE1HrdEsEXwfUe_WmjIQmoAatMUqfhqzgi2NLkN8nvKhvXF0zKrUgA9F0OZScTeKSMzmlP4pB4N-a8-zLGk58RBEi/s200/Birthday+Cards+2A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181465994512403698" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">The next card that I did was using the Berry Sorbet paper from Papertrey Inc. I just got it this week and could hardly wait to rip open the package. The designer paper is from SU and the colors just went together wonderfully along with SU Chocolate Chip. I just love that satin ribbon from SU. It was part of the 2007/2008 Holiday collection and I'm so glad I bought extra. The sentiment is from Papertrey's birthday sayings stamp set. The framing on the butterfly is done with the Nestabilities that come from Ellen Hutson's store. And then I added the paper piercing, which I think can be used on every card. It just adds that little bit of subtle umph !!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, I hope you like my Easter Sunday Production. It was a fun day and I'm happy because I only have 7 more birthday cards needed before April 13th !! UGH !!<a href="http://www.millan.net"><img src="http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/sigh.gif" border="0" /></a></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-85817082153144296182008-03-22T18:40:00.005-06:002008-03-22T18:56:56.249-06:00I'm hosting an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ATC</span> swap with some friends of mine. I have been trying to do one every other month. I just love <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ATC's</span>. For those of you that are unfamiliar, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ATC</span> stands for Artist Trading Cards. They are these cute little miniature cards, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" in size. They are the size of baseball trading card and just very fund to collect. Our theme for this month is Spring. Goodness knows we really<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoYeQ_BsHxRtkOwPMZv5Di_2v3tiSpF-dSoBzxWL1sBlFcFaAvLoQwAJe_HxRZiX7Xrogg73w-Zk45sRgUuWjRx8bi-TGvMCo6M3AwQ0G5RADviJQRzjjUgBAF4LYh_9T5QckkUv0BVO3/s1600-h/3-08+ATC+Swap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoYeQ_BsHxRtkOwPMZv5Di_2v3tiSpF-dSoBzxWL1sBlFcFaAvLoQwAJe_HxRZiX7Xrogg73w-Zk45sRgUuWjRx8bi-TGvMCo6M3AwQ0G5RADviJQRzjjUgBAF4LYh_9T5QckkUv0BVO3/s200/3-08+ATC+Swap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180734213689543890" border="0" /></a> need Spring soon. 12" of snow on March 21st, the first full day of Spring, is just more than a soul can bare !! So it was fun finishing up my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ATC's</span> today.<br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cardstock</span> and ribbon are all from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Papertrey</span> Inc. Great colors and quality stuff. The designer paper is from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">SU</span>. The stamp image is an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Inkadink</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wpd6Se5UY8zRuUUG563iSXVC4KyI4b2DvOSnM5uqyeN-8y0QD3NK0j7D59izYquDHLcWkW1BefIWZzqmSehBQEISDmJZazlJsnHJXKLvVkun7AeiE-pbSyqbF35SKLUrC9TLKC8uTH8E/s1600-h/3-08+ATC+Swap+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wpd6Se5UY8zRuUUG563iSXVC4KyI4b2DvOSnM5uqyeN-8y0QD3NK0j7D59izYquDHLcWkW1BefIWZzqmSehBQEISDmJZazlJsnHJXKLvVkun7AeiE-pbSyqbF35SKLUrC9TLKC8uTH8E/s200/3-08+ATC+Swap+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180734059070721218" border="0" /></a>ado that was given to me by my friend Lana. If you haven't checked out her blog you ought too. It is full of inspiration. The charm is from Cindy, owner of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Starlitstudio</span>. Link is on the right column. And of course the scalloped oval is done with my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Nestabilities</span> which came from Ellen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Hutson</span>. Check out her blog and all the great stuff she has <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"></span> in her store. You won't be sorry !! :)<br /><br />Well, I hope you like the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">ATC's</span>. If you have any questions, I will answer them so just leave them in the comment section. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday with family and friends.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-83694728299727015942008-03-20T17:43:00.004-06:002008-03-20T18:14:43.340-06:00Another Class ProjectWell, as promised, I'm back this week. I thought that today was a good day, being the first day of Spring. And, believe it or not, it was a Spring day today. It was 45 deg. and balmy and on top of that almost all of our snow is gone. I can hardly wait. This has been a long tough winter and I'm sure we will all be happy for it to be over. I suppose that is why most all of my cards have had that Spring feeling. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">wa</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2EPQqzsOb5kiGcodfvSfNhQLfGxvZi6thsDkji_E57UzrZyrb1aIhRBI1i80yRkrCVjSqjNMGqDNm9llDRhpx4YveVKmF4ZUsfc5VPMQuoQDLrMac8MKDBgO6N6sdLNDfq52Vg_VJF24/s1600-h/DSC01010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2EPQqzsOb5kiGcodfvSfNhQLfGxvZi6thsDkji_E57UzrZyrb1aIhRBI1i80yRkrCVjSqjNMGqDNm9llDRhpx4YveVKmF4ZUsfc5VPMQuoQDLrMac8MKDBgO6N6sdLNDfq52Vg_VJF24/s200/DSC01010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179975224248863906" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nt</span> to move beyond the doom and gloom of the grey <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">sky's</span> and cold temps.<br /><br />This card is using all the new <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">PaperTrey</span> products, the paper, and ribbon and oh I'm so in love with it. The stamp is one that I fell in love with from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Stampendous</span>. I bought this from my friends Joy and Daisy over at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Electic</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Paperie</span>. Although this is one of those horrible pictures that do not have the good lighting, I can tell you that this card looks very soft and elegant in real life. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">cardstock</span>, designer paper, ribbon and ink are all in Aqua Mist. It is a beautiful color and oh so Springy !! I also used a few splashes of Diamond <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Stickles</span> in the center of the flower just to add a bit of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">bling</span> (<span style="font-size:78%;">wink, wink</span>).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtvPVrFTdXepvIA0XQImTryuAydgbuF_tJP5K5DY-OfQkGA5Etc1r4GouaxEeaoA-DKYgk-IlJdggpZK0UOIOdxuNol0Afeb7hWfaF3OPHikMweGz4lpFabZ-_5oFVonr2b0OnzaiRQrf/s1600-h/Embrace+Life+Groovy+Guava+%26+Lace.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtvPVrFTdXepvIA0XQImTryuAydgbuF_tJP5K5DY-OfQkGA5Etc1r4GouaxEeaoA-DKYgk-IlJdggpZK0UOIOdxuNol0Afeb7hWfaF3OPHikMweGz4lpFabZ-_5oFVonr2b0OnzaiRQrf/s200/Embrace+Life+Groovy+Guava+%26+Lace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179978999525117106" border="0" /></a>Here is another card that I had fun making. It is done with Cameo Coral from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">SU</span> - a color that I don't use all that often but it went perfectly with the designer paper from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">SU</span>, Ginger Blossom. The stamp set is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">SU</span> Embrace Life. I cut out the flowers and water colored them with the great water color crayons from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">SU</span>. Then I took a pen and curled the petals of the flower under to give them more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">dimension</span>. I used <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">dimensionals</span> to pop them up. I added the cute flower textile trim at the last minute. It was sitting on my desk and I thought "Wow! this goes together" and glued it on the underside of the Ginger Blossom panel. I made another card with out the trim and I really like this one better. Now if I was like my friend Cami, I would have sewn that trim on. I just haven't gotten to that point yet. I figure by the time I start sewing on my cards, everyone else will be done doing that and it will be a whole new technique !! :)<br /><br />Well, that is it for today. If you like what you see, please leave a comment. I hope that everyone has a Happy & Sunny Easter Holiday.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-39942782244343562642008-03-18T16:42:00.004-06:002008-03-18T17:35:59.956-06:00<span style="font-family:georgia;">I had a good friend tell me that she visited my blog and that I hadn't posted anything since February. I was shocked - not because I didn't post anything that long, but more so that she came to visit !! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LOL</span> !! When people don't leave comments, then the blogger never know you were visiting. I just figured that I was doing this for my entertainment, in my spare time!!<br />So, with that being said, I must apologize to those of you who do come and visit - I really had no idea !</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I have more class projects to post and I'll start with two of them today. This particular card is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">trifold</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNole2dySFxhlVY5Pc5llFJvw2-pr-LYMETdTb-au9EZW0-QVluIOiFEBGbCvjv7Y_I_dVjbbP_okHv-2EduCUHZaiRwR_3BUuh0jLh_MAfMkT5tVg8uqVT-dhthFJQ6XuVrbrySj2VJ0/s1600-h/DSC01012.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNole2dySFxhlVY5Pc5llFJvw2-pr-LYMETdTb-au9EZW0-QVluIOiFEBGbCvjv7Y_I_dVjbbP_okHv-2EduCUHZaiRwR_3BUuh0jLh_MAfMkT5tVg8uqVT-dhthFJQ6XuVrbrySj2VJ0/s200/DSC01012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179223093236218162" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> card that is embellished with a punched flower. I used both the small and the oval <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">SU</span> punches for the five petals. The center of the flower I die cut with my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Nestabilities</span>. I liked using the word "Wonderful" as the stem of the flower. I added some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">SU</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">grosgrain</span> ribbon and some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Stickles</span> for a little <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">bling</span>. The designer paper that I used is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">SU's</span> Le <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Jardin</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Cardstock</span> is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">SU's</span> Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal. The card is a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card so it fits an A2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">envel</span></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">ope. This is also a great fold for sending pictures. They can be easily attached to the inside of the card - like a mini album.<br /><br />The next card that we did is is a fun triangular fold. The picture turn embellishment on the right, is actually holding the card closed. The stamp set is by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Stampendous</span> and this</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkHt0H2GDyGxfax3YDqXn9GaL76HB0jSya-AN50JhtOVGS9mtLZfhz-mOAVY3TyL4WTW7qjlT8poJzWd1xwit9tIGStq60dQQ_syVQwMO-y6sasxq3yce6kEvEQk26ZujEKNQpsq2UBld/s1600-h/DSC01018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkHt0H2GDyGxfax3YDqXn9GaL76HB0jSya-AN50JhtOVGS9mtLZfhz-mOAVY3TyL4WTW7qjlT8poJzWd1xwit9tIGStq60dQQ_syVQwMO-y6sasxq3yce6kEvEQk26ZujEKNQpsq2UBld/s200/DSC01018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179227087555803458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is the cup cake set that was exclusive to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Electic</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Paperie</span>. I just love this set and there are so many things you can do with it. The outside boarder of this card says "happy birthday my little cup cake". Because this set is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">acr</span></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">ylic</span> and goes on an acrylic block, it is very easy to do this kind of boarder because you can see exactly where you are stamping. The designer paper is Flowers for You by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">SU</span>. The embellishments are from Oriental Trading. The layout for the card comes from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">SCS</span> and is really a fun fold to try.<br /><br />I have to apologize for the pictures. I'm always taking them late at night and I don't have a place with real good lighting. I hope to change that problem soon. I think that is why I don't post real often - I need to correct the picture taking issue. So, I better get on with it. <br /><br />Well, that is it for today. I'll be sure and post something at the end of this week. If you like what you see, please leave a comment. If you have a question, please ask - I'll be happy to help out. Have a great week.<br /><br /></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-76755945241193552322008-02-28T19:23:00.005-06:002008-02-28T20:14:25.840-06:00Class Cards<span style="font-family:georgia;">I was in a cyber conversation today with a friend of mine, Heather McNally, who politely reminded me that I needed to update my blog. I told her that I don't get that many visitors and she said, "I visit" !! She is the sweetest most sensitive young lady that I have ever met so I have adopted her. After all, I don't have daughters an</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">d I think my boys would benefit from having a sister. Besides that she has two beautiful little boys and because I doubt I will ever be a Grandma, I will just adopt Tyler and Caden too !! :) Love you Hooty and I'm updating this just for you today.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">I took a few days vacation - the r&r that is needed with this long cold winter. So part of the day I went to my stamp </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">room. Put a few things away and started getting ready for my Monday class. Here is what I came up with.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88_vHtGY4AZREm3nrOUJhIuMyS5oCJmi0twqC6eUKR1kMz5nUQPkFMvb-57zfCyl3l5igQFLETHfWaJT_m9TtZ5BYwukNhsCRYE-YkroVn6wZZPhDXr5SIJZRRFAE21Z9Uuut23_2AOlg/s1600-h/Class+Cards.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88_vHtGY4AZREm3nrOUJhIuMyS5oCJmi0twqC6eUKR1kMz5nUQPkFMvb-57zfCyl3l5igQFLETHfWaJT_m9TtZ5BYwukNhsCRYE-YkroVn6wZZPhDXr5SIJZRRFAE21Z9Uuut23_2AOlg/s200/Class+Cards.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172208352746252738" border="0" /></a>I chose to focus on different closures for this class and I think that they will like my creations so far. The card on the left is a gate fold card. It is held shut with the Basic Grey magnet closures. I bought them from Satrlit Studio last year and never used them. Boy, was I missing out - they are wonderful. The card on the right has a scalloped edge that I learned how to do from my other "daughter" Cami. She is so ingeniouse and has no problem thinking out of the box !! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83VyW5XJCSLX8Ec5fNXloHLL0mC4D2vNqiMGj9TcRvgbXr5RyUwfZKZy8tSdw7hk_ntmTwD6BFZxtWz7gMpQP14HBmJKNKGYD0VipTqJwUZN9Zm2DgWDDABW_2zYJeGcu5iZpzuencn_3/s1600-h/Gatefold+Open.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83VyW5XJCSLX8Ec5fNXloHLL0mC4D2vNqiMGj9TcRvgbXr5RyUwfZKZy8tSdw7hk_ntmTwD6BFZxtWz7gMpQP14HBmJKNKGYD0VipTqJwUZN9Zm2DgWDDABW_2zYJeGcu5iZpzuencn_3/s200/Gatefold+Open.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172211445122705874" border="0" /></a><br />You can see the gate fold better with this picture. I used the SU textured card stock in Blue Bayou. I just love working with this card stock. It is perfect weight and the texture really adds a lot to the cards. It also folds easy. The card itself, measures 12" x 5 1/2". The card is then scored at 2", 4", 8" and 10". Using the Scor Pal for this is wonderful. It makes the job of multiple scores so easy. Once the card is scored then you cut off 3/4" from each end. The ends then become the flaps. I then took 2 pieces 1" x 5 !/2" piece of River Rock and scalloped the edges and adhered them to the underside of the flaps. I cut 2 pieces 1 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of SU DS paper Porcelain Prints. These were adhered to the front flaps. I then positioned the snack on the underside of the right flap and I put in the brads. I then adhered the flaps to the base of the card. When folding your card, be sure that the texture of the paper is on the outside.<br /><br />The stamp set that I used was SU's Blooming with Love. This is a great spring set and has multiple uses. If a Mom loves gardening - it will be good for that special card in May too ! :)<br />I colored in the images with reinkers and blending pens. I also lined the image with River Rock that I scalloped on the edges.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFndI2qbuWXGmU8fr9ltOx7t1yGmbea9op3Uj0Lt3c83cB6oRXtaBxO2d2VwOtBtB1jBvN5WiOdCxakjev8EHefPr-Do3syyXRdUnkfxaKSD8j3Tk7f739ifQoIW-jdZb0Cl307rNIAvRb/s1600-h/Scallop+Edge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFndI2qbuWXGmU8fr9ltOx7t1yGmbea9op3Uj0Lt3c83cB6oRXtaBxO2d2VwOtBtB1jBvN5WiOdCxakjev8EHefPr-Do3syyXRdUnkfxaKSD8j3Tk7f739ifQoIW-jdZb0Cl307rNIAvRb/s200/Scallop+Edge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172217468127765746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This card was a lot of fun to do because it was so easy. The stamp set was SU's Priceless. The DS paper was A flower for you. The center flower was stamped a second time and cut out so it could be raised over the original image. The center of each flower has a rhinestone from EK Success. I purchased them along time ago and just discovered them while cleaning !! LOL !! I guess I need to do that a little more often.<br />The bottom edge of this card is scalloped with a corner rounder. Cami has an excellent tutorial if you want to visit her blog. You'll see lots of other great stuff their too.<br /><br />All ribbon is from Starlit Studios - you can never have too much ribbon !<br /><br />Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at these cards. Hooty, I hope you like them too !! :) Thanks for looking and I hope you all stop by again.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-63412070837874112122008-02-16T19:22:00.004-06:002008-02-16T19:52:08.820-06:00Happy Valentine's<span style="font-family:georgia;">I hope that you all had a chance to spread the love on Valentine's Day. I know a lot of people say that it is a Hallmark Holiday, but those of us who make our own cards know better. And besides, I don't know how you feel about it, but I don't think that a lot of us say "I love you" to those we care about and for, often enough. So we assign a day to do that and I think that can be a good thing !!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">We had another stamp camp last weekend and it was a huge success. I think everyone is so tired of this snow and they just wanted to get out and have fun. Here are the two cards that I contributed to our stamp camp. Both of them are very simple to make and yet were a big hit. Simple is hard for me so I was happy that I did accomplish it with something that </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">I liked too!!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_ZBXIXdhrFowH5z0hdoYqdWnD1ZGXMF9zh8HumwxzfUTc_iLpFywSAKvuHh2vTWZN3a4a_dBte3V_CbudW8sJ1C3TfGeZNkOBF_OKc6cjw5LuM7gsmnEIZj6Y_eVQfBpIR8CovafsCrn/s1600-h/Jan-Feb+Birthday+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_ZBXIXdhrFowH5z0hdoYqdWnD1ZGXMF9zh8HumwxzfUTc_iLpFywSAKvuHh2vTWZN3a4a_dBte3V_CbudW8sJ1C3TfGeZNkOBF_OKc6cjw5LuM7gsmnEIZj6Y_eVQfBpIR8CovafsCrn/s200/Jan-Feb+Birthday+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167755060070820242" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">This card is my version of a monochromatic. The scan is light and even though I tried to adjust the contrast and colors in Adobe, this is the best I could do. All stamps for this card come from the Sale-A-Bration set Birthday Whimsy. The slanted tag says "Happy Birthday". I drew in the strings for the balloons with a Sakura glitter pen. I used the pen to highlight some of the areas of the balloons and the present. The third balloon I cut out and positioned with dimentionals. I also tied a silver embroidery thread to it and allowed it to hang loose. The background is the designer paper from SU and all colors are done in Soft Sky. The inside of the card says "and many more...."<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yjWjhv5CyfjcUO0LhXinXCYUwjI1OvvxC6Q1MVpl54QG4b7cBwWV2Hpi6D0K3afgum9EcQKGXXoMi4OqStt_jFikC1KFJBg4D-ZDA_a7U9BSVOSsNKTkDtfJY8cuNePOm5bFXVQ_mtNI/s1600-h/Stamp+Camp+2-08.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yjWjhv5CyfjcUO0LhXinXCYUwjI1OvvxC6Q1MVpl54QG4b7cBwWV2Hpi6D0K3afgum9EcQKGXXoMi4OqStt_jFikC1KFJBg4D-ZDA_a7U9BSVOSsNKTkDtfJY8cuNePOm5bFXVQ_mtNI/s200/Stamp+Camp+2-08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167760561923926450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">This card is done in Groovy Guava and Certainly Celery. Background is stamped</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> with Canvas and Sale-A-Bration's Friendship Blooms. The large flower from this set was stamped on Whisper White and then punched out with the scallop punch. The sentiment is mounted on DP in Groovy Guava and then Certainly Celery. I added a small flower brad from Oriental Trading in the center of the flower. It was then mounted on a larger scallop circle done with Nestabilities die cut system. The flower was mounted with dimentionals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Two easy and fun cards - the kind that is nice to do and to keep in your home stash. Thanks for stopping by to take a look and I hope you all had a Love Filled Valentine's Day !! :)</span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-49607817827117233832008-02-10T14:56:00.000-06:002008-02-10T15:41:14.335-06:00I hope everyone in the Midwest is keeping warm today. It is so cold outside that even our dog Murphy, won't go outside. He and my husband usually go for 45 minute to 1 hour walks every afternoon. Not today, it was just too cold so 20 minutes was all they could handle. When I say cold I mean 7 degrees below zero with wind chills as cold as 30 degrees below zero. Now that's a chiller and this is the coldest winter that I have in memory. Oh well, I guess we will all just have to tough it out and how that spring will again renew our faith in Mother Nature !! LOL !!<br /><br />Well, this weekend is a historic one among my stamping community. Four outstanding stampers and scrapers started their blogs to showcase their goods. They are<br /><a href="http://karleenbakke.blogspot.com/">Kar</a><br /><a href="http://happinessblooms.blogspot.com">HB</a><br /><a href="http://Prinnyspalace.typepad.com">Prinny</a><br /><a href="http://lunarlana.typepad.com/">Lana</a><br />Be sure and visit these blogs. You will not be disappointed, I promise you !! :)<br />I'm off to get some Valentine stuff done. I'm a bit behind because I had a class and a stamp camp this past week, both which were very successful. Thank you ladies, it is always so much fun showing you new products and techniques. We will be having another stamp camp on March 29th. I'll post the flyer here so save the date and come and have fun with us.<br />For now - Stay warm !! :)Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-87544055734508162562008-02-06T21:06:00.000-06:002008-02-06T21:19:36.553-06:00Well, it has been awhile since I have been here. So long that I had a hard time remembering my password. I have been busy stamping, just haven't taken the time to post anything. I know - that is no way to blog. I'm going to try and be here more often, for those of you who do visit.<br /><br />It was easier for me to stamp and post here today because I was snow bound. Mother Nature sure did a number on us today. I think the final numbers were 16" of snow which fell in 24 hours. I can not remember the last time we had a day where it never stopped snowing. All schools, malls, and even the airport closed due to this act of nature. I guess it is not nice to fool Mother Nature !! :)<br /><br />Here is one of the latest project that I have completed. My good friend Nancy and I took a class at our local scrapbooking store. It was a lot of fun and I love this project. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gcDqCpDmb45jdORetlyqI7axtHXBKNgvmgP7LLDc3_9b1ieviLEAE_7NOnkFnoMiC_15hSSIHd8YCtAGxOr7x74cNQe2JyOa8TtlVIxaZ6psAcvasDcMuCk4EIol7EREmXn4WZ4hnRNy/s1600-h/Love+Book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gcDqCpDmb45jdORetlyqI7axtHXBKNgvmgP7LLDc3_9b1ieviLEAE_7NOnkFnoMiC_15hSSIHd8YCtAGxOr7x74cNQe2JyOa8TtlVIxaZ6psAcvasDcMuCk4EIol7EREmXn4WZ4hnRNy/s200/Love+Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164072035312630786" border="0" /></a> I'm ready to make more. This is the Love album from Bo Bunny Press. The album is made from chip board and is naked when we got it. We had to do the altering with the Bo Bunny papers and the ribbons. The store is Essential Scrapbooking on Howell Avenue. It is a beautiful store and I love the couple who own it. Nancy and I are taking another class there next Wednesday. It is for quilted cards. I'll be sure and post those projects as well.<br /><br />Well, that's it for today. Sorry that I have been mia - I promise to make my next visit in a much shorter time. I hope everyone has a great week.Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390293970080870685.post-69099872918633160932007-12-11T09:33:00.000-06:002007-12-11T09:45:17.438-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack !!!</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Soo sorry for the long absence. I have just been overwhelmed with projects and life in general. I was in my first craft fair at the end of Nov. Getting ready for that sure can be challenging. Thankfully my dear friend Nancy shared the table with me and added many of her wonderful stamped creations. We did pretty good at the fair but we did better at my place of employment Sold lots of St. Nick goodies and Secret Santa goodies. It was a lot of fun.<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLTCJ5s-lLa0w_KgGDF7hAiBETPvpHnAveW3WX0LeSviw5FxzwfpRoayFhaCgUzrrEnzcONOD2StW6Luhypt_uMhaLxFPO1pu07-sGvIHimHMgmRDipPLsV0POC3vFr0VlJN3Sn6dPnC2/s1600-h/sale+table.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLTCJ5s-lLa0w_KgGDF7hAiBETPvpHnAveW3WX0LeSviw5FxzwfpRoayFhaCgUzrrEnzcONOD2StW6Luhypt_uMhaLxFPO1pu07-sGvIHimHMgmRDipPLsV0POC3vFr0VlJN3Sn6dPnC2/s200/sale+table.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142740482727474114" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Our craft fair table looked great. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. He</span></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">re is a picture of how it was set up. The branch is from my friend Marge's yard. My DH spray painted it for me and I stuck it into an old heavy wine jug and then we hung our ornaments on it. I think that we were very festive. It was a fun experience.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />I'm off today because of terrible icy conditions here in the Midwest, so I'm going to get to my Christmas cards - finally !! :) I will be sure to post one as soon as the design is final.<br /><br />Also, I think that I will keep the type in red for Christmas! I need all the push I can get to get into the spirit of the season !! LOL !! And, thank you for being patient with me. I promise not to disappear for such a long time again.<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span>Stefanie Staniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147982678281146020noreply@blogger.com2