Weekly Classes...

Well...I had a friend POP over this weekend...she is a NEW stamping friend who has lived down the street from me since we moved in 3 years ago..."HI!" Lynda...we have now found each other and she is really bummed......that I am moving in a few short months...so she said that she wanted to get thogther often so that I could show her lots of techniques before we pack up and move...so since I have Monday of every week off now...I suggested that I start classes again...I did this every Monday for almost the entire time we lived in Iceland...and I LOVED it...It kept me stamping and coming up with new cards, ideas and things to teach...so...I am now having a Monday class again...

Our first one was last night and since it was SHORT notice...as I just decided on Sunday afternoon to start these up again...I only had one participant...Lynda...she is gonna be a die-hard stamper...I can see it in her future! We made three really cute cards...I saw a card somewhere...on someone's blog...and I am sorry, but I have no idea whose it was, but I liked the technique and when I got home from doing all of my Monday errands yesterday...I threw this together...it will be one of the cards that will make in next Monday's class...

Here is a close-up of the techniques...Emboss Resist and ribbon dying...the ribbon was origionally white...



And here is the whole card...genius if I do say so myself...I was really...REALLY pleased with how this turned out...and it doesn't even have crystal effects, micro-beads or glitter on it...So if you are interested in making this card and are in the Sacramento, CA area...and would like to come to class...just leave me a comment with contact info...and I will get back to you ASAP...cost for class is only $8.00 per person and I supply EVERYTHING...all you need to do is show-up...


Hope you enjoyed the class sneak peek...leave me a comment and let me know how you liked the card...

Can't believe it...

I was surfing around on one of my forums...and someone asked a question about what people did with their wood blocks once they went unmounted...some of the responses were...

Throw them away...and another was burn them...

I couldn't believe it...I am still a die-hard wood block lovin' stamper...I was given some blocks a while ago and over the Christmas holidays...during my crafting genius...I had a light-bulb moment...now I have probably seen this somewhere else...as 99.9% of everything I come up with...I have borrowed from someone else...I am just really good at adapting and tweaking what I have stored away in the dark and dusty corners of my mind...Here they are...my light-bulb moment of crafty goodness!!


YEP...I just put photos on them...It took a bit as each one is a slightly different size, but they are really cute once you stack them up....SEE...


And of COURSE...you need to do both sides...so this is the other side of all of the blocks....pure genius...even if I do say so myself...



SO...What do you think...leave me a comment and let me know...I have asked for more blocks...hope I get them!

Well...I need to take some photos...

Yep...there is the truth folks...I need to take some photos...I have been super busy stamping LOTS of cards and even scrapbooking a bit over the last two weeks...but...and that is a big BUT...I haven't taken any pictures of my masterpieces yet...So I guess that I need to put it onto my "to do" list for tomorrow, as it is almost my bedtime or I would do it tonight. It sucks to work full-time when all you want to do is stay at home and play in your stamp studio...OH WELL...maybe someday...so stay tuned and check back tomorrow...as I have ACTUALLY added "take photos of cards and projects" to my "TO DO" list for tomorrow...so there will be some cute cards to show you over the next few days...but here is a photo that I took of one of my FAVORITE things about Christmas...my nativity set...hope you check back tomorrow...

Christmas Card - 2009

These were my Christmas Cards this Christmas...they were BEAUTIFUL when they were done, but BOY were they a pain to make...I design one card every year and it becomes the one...The ONE that has to be made...THE ONE YOU CAN"T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD...so yep...I decided that this was THE ONE...that was all well and good until it came down to the process of getting them ALL made...I made THE ONE...I figured out how many that I "NEEDED" to make and did a bit of math and placed my order for all of the supplies...the supplies arrived...and the supplies sat there...in the Stampin' Up! box of goodness for a few weeks...then it was Thanksgiving...I needed to get them done...they were suppose to be in the mail the Monday after Thanksgiving...well, as you have probably guessed by now they didn't get in the mail on that Monday...or the following two Mondays...they FINALLY went into the mail on Monday...the 21st of Dec...am I a procrastinator or what...but here it is...

The Front Cover



The First Page...The collage photo...I really wanted to include the SILLY photo of the kids...


Kaitlyn's page...this will prpbably be the last time that she is included in our Christmas card as she turns 18 in Oct and is joining the Air Force and she will no longer be living at home...


Reilly's page...I still have a few years before Reilly moves out he is only a Sophmore this year and will not be leaving home for a couple more years...He is 15 1/2 right now.


Colleen's page...She is an eighth grader this year and is 13 going on 30, I swear, that girl is so overly dramatic and high maintenance...I have no idea what we are going to do with her...hopefully our move later this year to Texas will ground her a bit more...

This is the last page in the card...our family page...photo of Kirk and I...a group photo of the kids and of course I had to include a photo of my "puppy girl"...Dixie Lou Dawg...she is my shadow...


I have had questions on how I put my binding together...so here is a closer look...I used my paper piercer to make holes and then used a large needle and crochet thread to tie the pages into the book...The dimension of the finished card is 4" X 9 1/4" as I made them to fit into a regular business sized envelope and it's dimensions are 4 1/8 X 9 1/2". The pages inside are slightly shorter at 9" long...I used 12X12 cardstock and cut it down to 4X12, then scored at 3"...I overlapped the 3" for each page and adhered them together...


For the covers...I also scored at 3", and then used the Scallop Edge Border Punch and added the Real Red Piece...The ones that actually got mailed did not have the knot tied on them as they were way thicker than the 1/4" that the Post Office allows...


I hope this helps those of you who had questions about how my Cards were made and put together...as I said earlier...they took FOREVER to put together, but they were really cute in the end and I was SO HAPPY with the way that they turned out...and...it seems that everyone who has received one has really liked them also...I just need to start earlier and think harder...It is getting harder and harder to top the card from the year before...

Stay tuned...more to come...Twila

New Year...New Post...New Years Resolutions...

KEEP BLOG UPDATED...Along with some other things...but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep my blog updated. It will probably NOT be everyday, but I will try for 4-5 times a week. I have learned how to set up automatic postings...so I can get everything ready on the weekend by the magic of television my blog will be updated magically...all by itself...anyway...here is a card that I made a couple of months ago for a challenge that I had seen somewhere...I though that it turned out really cute...




Stay tuned as I have been off of work for the past two weeks and have some creative genius things to show you over the next few weeks...so keep coming back!

Here is a card using the For All You Do stamp set that is new this catalog year...This is another set that I just HAD to HAVE right away! I think that it is so versatile...and that Polka Dot Ribbon...is so me...I LOVE the color RED...it is my favorite...and to have polka dots to go with it...I'm in Heaven! I have a lot of custom and designer items in my cubicle at work and yep you guessed it...the Red Polka Dots and Red Stripes are my favorite things...My Cubicle at work and my Studio here at home are Black, White and Red...with an emphasis on the Polka Dots...so this ribbon is right up my alley!

Here is another Halloween card...

Here is the second card I sent in for the Haunting Hellos contest for SU! Demonstrators last month...


I think that this is my FAVORITE Stampin' Up! Halloween set EVER!!!

Well...today is the day that I fly out for Stampin' Up!'s annual Convention. It is being held in Salt Lake City again this year. I am done with my roommate gifts and I didn't do any swaps this year...not even organized ones...and I am more than happy with not having the pressure of getting all those swaps done...I just figure that if I see a card I like that I will ask to snap a photo of it...

My flight leaves at 6:00 AM today and I will be in Salt Lake by 8:30 AM MST...it is only a 1 1/2 hour flight, but I wanted to get in early, so I could actually see some of the downtown area...I have been to Salt Lake City three other times and haven't really ventured outside of my hotel and the Convention Center, so I thought that I would come in REALLY early today and stow my luggage at the hotel and walk to Temple Square...I know that it is a beautiful place, but I would like to see it for myself...My roommates aren't getting in until the afternoon and way later in the evening, but that's okay...that way I get my choice of beds and drawers in the hotel room...Don't know how much I will be actually posting from Convention as there isn't any wireless in the rooms, but I may venture down one floor to the lobby and connect there...

Took the weekend off...

But I do have some more cards for ya'll to take a peek at...

This week I will be sharing some cards that I made for the August contests for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators...

Here is my favorite card that I made...this was for the Haunting Hellos contest...I LOVE this Halloween stamp set...it's called From the Crypt...I used all of the images in the set...and I LOVE the way the card came out...I hope SU! loves it too and forks over some free stamps...

Check back tomorrow for another card using this set...

Another card...

Here is another card using some of my retired products...I need to use them up...

This little bird out of the Fun & Fast Notes stamp set is one of my FAVORITES...I LOVE to watercolor him...

Card #3...A Series...

Here is the third and final card in my series...same supplies...different stamps...

Card #2...A Series...

Here is card #2 is my series...same supplies...different stamps...

Card #1...A Series...

Here is the first card in a series...using the same items...just different stamps...Check back tomorrow for card #2...

Workshop Tonight...

Hi All...I have a workshop scheduled for tonight...I haven;t done one in a LONG while, but I figured that I needed to start having others support my stampin habit again...PLUS, I really miss the deadlines for creating projects...

Here are the two projects that we will be making tonight...


Here is a closer look at the box...


Hopefully my workshop goers will like the projects as much as I do...

Sorry Readers...

For the interuption in posting...I had to fly back to Texas...and was gone for a few days. Now I am back home and back at work...but today is Friday and my EARLY day...so it's all good!

Here is another card for you!

July 16th...

This card has some retired goodies on it, but I thought that I would post it anyway as I really liked how it turned out...


I used the Retired DSP - Rockabilly, which I LOVED, but I love anything black, white and red...and that paper pack had a bit of that in it...I am WAY excited about the NEW DSP coming out in the mini that will be available in Sept...it is black and white...I am TOO excited...a dash of red and that's all me...ANYWAY...back to the card. I used the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set with the Slit Punch to make my scallops. Added some DSP and some red brads...TOO CUTE!

Another Card...

Here is a card that I made last month for one of SU!'s contests... I haven't heard anything from the powers that be, so I am assuming that I didn't win the contest. I haven't seen it on Stamper's Showcase yet...so, maybe it will be on the display boards at Convention...I LOVE seeing my work displayed...I know that it was nice to hear the comments made about my cards and scrapbook pages the year I was a Display Stamper...wish I could do that again!



I used the Silver Duo beads to accent the scallops and at the ends of the words...So what do you think?

Open House...

I had my new catalog Open House this last Saturday...I only had a handful of RSVP's but those few that did show up seemed to have a good time. They enjoyed looking through the NEW catalog, receiving FREE gifts and making some really CUTE projects...Here are the projects they made...


The Card...I really liked the wheel that went with the Falling Leaves stamp set so I had to order both...I really like the worded wheels...I also fell in LOVE with the Woodgrain background stamp and HAD to have that on my first order...I also used the new In Colors...Love the Polka Dot Ribbon!


Here is the second project that we did...again, using a new stamp set Extreme Elemets...LOVE this set as it goes with ANY other set you own! Everyone LOVED the little box and everyone knows that I LOVE my Bigshot!



I am so happy that Stampin' Up! finally has a die cutting machine and such a variety of dies...I need to find a new way to store my dies as I am outgrowing my wooden basket that I keep them all in...Well...check back tomorrow to see what new things have popped up!

Lookie Here...I posted something new!

I have set a REMINDER in my Outlook to do this every Sunday...SO...Hopefully you will be seeing more cards and stuff over the NEXT few months then you have in the LAST few months...

Here are some photos that I took of Kaitlyn and her boyfriend Luis just before their Junior Prom in May.

Here is my favorite photo of just Kaitlyn...

And here is the crafty goodness that you look at my blog for...Here is her corsage that Luis got her...she set it aside for about a month and let the flowers dry and I had this old frame just sitting around...all I need to do is add a photo of them once I get it printed...I will post an update once that is done...I think it turned out really cute and Kaitlyn really likes it too...

I made Stamper's Showcase...

Here is a card that I sent in for one of the contests last month...I didn't win, BUMMER...I need FREE stamps...but it made Stamper's Showcase this morning...


Here are a couple of close-ups...I used Crystal Effects for the little dots around the edge of the Melon Mambo butterfly and a little paper clip to tie the Crushed Currey Polka Dot Ribbon to...

FOUR LONG MONTHS...

It has been FOUR LONG MONTHS since I have posted and I am really sorry!!!

Hopefully I can figure out this automatic posting thing this weekend so I can post everyday...which is what I wanted when I started this blog...so I am off to figure this thing out!

I'll be back SOON!