A little glimpse of Soapy Stargazer

I don't have a card for you today. I did make one last night but didn't get it uploaded, so thought I would give you a little glimpse of my Soapy Stargazer. :) Isn't she just the cutest kid in the world!?!? (Proud Parent Here).

Anyway, we call her Soapy Stargazer because, well her name is Sophie and sometimes we just call her Soapy for fun :), but the Stargazer part comes from when I was in labor and she wouldn't come because she hadn't/wouldn't turn the right way (stubborn like her dad- NOT her mom...hope daddy isn't reading- wink!) , she was belly up, like she was gazing at the stars. so that is the day Soapy Stargazer was born, litteraly and figuratively!

I wanted to show you the recent pics of her post first haircut, but don't have them on my (eh-hem) work computer. So I decided this picture was super cute too and you might like that. This was Presidents Day and Sophie and I (daddy still had to work- boo) were at the Seattle Center Fountain. You can see the fountain there in the background, it is huge and fun and spouts water to music- so cool. We were running around and chasing birds and playing and it was sunny. No, really, it was sunny, no snow, no hail and no rain- which is why we were out. We had a terrific time.

I love this little girl sooooo much. You know, it is funny about quotes, I have never much been into them, but some of the parenting ones are right on, so I will leave you with this one from Elizabeth Stone, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Pop-up card and some swaps

Pop-up cards seem to be all the rave right now, I have seen a ton of them around. Recently I saw this super cute one on my friend Jackie's blog- http://jackiestamps4fun.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/another-pop-up-card/. I commented on how cute it was (isn't it!?!?) and said I wanted to try one soon, and so Jackie challenged me to make one. She also provided a link to her tutorial- http://jackiestamps4fun.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/happy-birthday-pop-up-card/- so basically, I had no excuse to not make one. Thanks Jackie, I needed that friendly little push! Besides, it is basically a *challenge* and I love those. ;) So, thar she blows......here is the card front.

And the inside view:

I am pretty happy with the way this turned out so big thanks to Jackie. Make sure to visit her blog for the tutorial and to see her cute pop-up cards.

Now before I go for the night, I wanted to show you some swap cards I received in the mail yesterday. This was a birthday swap, and there were 4 different categories: Youth Female, Adult Female, Adult Male, Youth Male. Here they are (sorry for some of the blurry photos):

Youth Male:

Adult Male:

Adult Female:

Youth Female

There were so many I couldn't fit them all, so from the left, Adult Female, Youth Female, Youth Male:

Now I want to point out that two of these lovely cards were made by my downline. Picture 3 with Manhattan Flowers is by Anne-Claire, so pretty! Picture 5 with Wild About You and the adorable button dies is by Denise. You can visit both of their blogs on the right under the section, "blogs I visit". They both signed up during Sale-a-bration and got a great deal and are loving it. :) You go girls!

Lastly, I just want to say thanks to all those who swapped, great cards- Cindy, Charity, Michelle L., Michelle W., Ringer, Alisha, Sharlene, Debbie, Carrie, Sherri, Judy, Sue and Colleen- THANK YOU!

Today's Second Challenge

OK, this card is much more successful than the last. Oh well, the fun is in trying to make stuff. It is actually so funny, because I make cards (some I love and some I hate) but then I just move on, they sit in a pile until I put them in my for sale bin. I don't do well with multiples of the same card, because I want to make something new. Anyway, I digress....

So this card is for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge- http://flourishesnewsletter.blogspot.com/2009/03/timeless-tuesday_23.html. This week it is hosted by Betty Wright- I love Betty! And she has challenged me to emboss something. So today, I was blurfing and found a great "faux tile" card made by Mary Fish- http://www.stampinpretty.com/2009/03/happiness-is-caseing-beate.html -so I CASEd this card idea and went with it.

After I made my tiles and did my peircing, I decided to leave out a tile. I then used a transparency sheet and put it through with my birds and blooms die. I topped that with a some glitter, put a (insert magic word...) BUTTON on and and tied to my twill tape. The little tag is stamped and embossed with silver embossing powder. The tag is regal rose (main colors are cameo coral and kiwi) because I didn't have any of the Lots of Tags dies in the coral color, so after stamping and embossing, I brushed the tag in my coral ink. I am happy with this card- yeah!

Yes, more challenges

OK, I did this card as a challenge card- are you suprised. I love Julie's blog- http://outtoimpress.blogspot.com/2009/03/celebrating-300k-day-2.html- and found that she was doing a challenge. The object was to CASE (copy and share) one of her cards- so I cased this card-

I love this card, it is so bright and fun. It makes me smile, just like it is supposed to. :) My version of this card is below:

Now I have to say that I looked at Julie's card in the early am and made mine in the late afternoon. I am not sure I actually CASEd it at all, but oh well. The main image in my head was the background flower with the ribbon on top and a word bubble (can't think of the right word here) in the middle with some bling. I new I didn't want to use a flower, too same-same, so went with a star. I was WAY off the mark and am not even sure I like this card- but anyway, here it is.

Oh, and did you notice the button? I think I mentioned this, but I love buttons. :)

Ultimate Stampin' Kit

Have you ever wanted to sign up to be a demonstrator? For those of you that do, keep reading for more information. For those of you that find this prospect too scary or too much of a committment...keep reading!

OK, maybe that is confusing, but what I am saying is that if you want to be a demonstrator you can sign up, but if you don't want to be a demonstrator, just like your hobby, you can still sign up and simply get the ultimate stamping kit. Either way, NOW is the time to do it because this is deal of the Century!!!

Through March 31st Stampin' Up! is offering:

• 15 % discount on the starter kit (not obligated to make sales!)


• free stamp set up to $47.95


• AND a three easy payments program ($56.34/month for three months- + tax on month one)

This is a value of $360+!!!!

Although this offer expires soon, the three payment option (not 15% discount and free stamp set) is an option through April 31st. Contact me for more information.

mmmm...good!

Don't these little cupcakes look yummy!? My husband saw this and said, "thanks a lot, now I want a cupcake!" Haha, maybe if you buy me those stamps I mentioned below! ;)

Now can we talk about a few of my new favorite things? First, I love the Wagon Full of Fun stamp set, so versatile, so cute. Second, I love the button boquet! I have had this for quite a while and it has been sitting in my pile-o-stampin' stuff, but I have been using them like crazy lately. My next goal is to do this with my hodgepodge hardware (hardly touched) and my clips (again, hardly touched)- it is just a matter of learning fun ways to use them. So I highly recommend this stamp set and the button boquet!

Oh and may have mentioned but I LOVE doing challenges! I made this card for two challenges. The first challenge is the mojo monday challenge- http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/ here is the sketch:

I also did the splitcoast inspiration challenge from Saturday- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=427166. This challenge uses something for inspiration. In this case the host chose Little Daisy Designs on Etsy- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=427166. These dresses are so adorable!!! Maybe I'll get my Sophie one. Who by the way got her first haircut yesterday and looks so big now- a happy and sad moment for me! Anyway, I chose this dress, it is so fun.

Thanks for stapping by!

Girls Rule...Boys Drool! :)

When I saw this set, I thought it would be great to get. I don't have any masculine sets so why not. Then I was thinking, well it shouldn't only be for guys- what about girls. So I made this fun page layout using pink and gray. All supplies are SU except the punch was a Martha Stewart punch. Anyway, I had fun with it, I hope you like it too.

Here is a close up for you to see everything. I colored the tools in pink and grey. I used a couple of brads, thinking they looked like nails. The "He who has the most tools wins" saying has a chipboard S in front of it for She and embossed with silver embossing powder. I was tempted to put Boys Drool, but didn't :)