More is More

Happy Friday!  If you came here from Taylor’s blog then you should know the scoop by now, but if not you’ll certainly want to head over there get all the info on the BIG Taylored Expressions release today which includes 5 new stamp sets, 2 new Key Ingredients and a whole load of other new products in the store. Also be on the lookout for the TE newsletter in your in-box today….you ARE subscribed, aren’t you?  😉

Of course Friday means another fun sketch – TECC71.  For today’s card I was excited to use the new TE stamp set Hope & faith from Taylor’s new inspirational line Lasting Impressions.

I have a friend going through a rough time and I wanted to send her a card of enouragement.  This quote seemed perfect.

“Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wonderous ways.

The dry seasons do not last.  The Spring rain will come again.”

I stamped it on white cardstock and highlighted some of the words with Pink Pirouette ink and an aquapainter.  Then I cut and embossed it with a Spellbinders rectangle nestie die.  Designer Paper is SU Bella Rose (I sure am going to miss that paper!) and cardstock colors are Pink Piroutte and Riding Hood Red.  I used a SU Fleurette and button along with RHD Taffeta ribbon.  The pink panel is embossed with a cuttlebug birds and vine folder.

For the inside I used a Spellbinder doubled ended label die and some pink brads.

Today there will be TECC creations from the Cupcake Crew as well as release day samples from the Baker’s Dozen.  That’s a lot of blog hopping to do so be sure to grab a cup of cofee and relax.  I know you’ll be inspired by all there is to see!  The very best way to get to everything is to simply hop over to Taylor’s blog and follow all the links from there. She has two posts today – be sure to read them both.

I had hoped to have a 2nd card to share today as well…so many fun TE stamps to play with…but I ran out of time, so I’m hoping to have something tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend and happy shopping.

OK – I know that’s a silly title, but it’s just what popped into my head when I started to type up this post.  I realized I had one more card to share from the Taylored Expressions Spring Spectacular using the Dazzled Key Ingredients Kit.  I had already shared several last week.    Click here for all the details on this honey of a deal from TE.  These kits were all in limited quantity and it is my understanding that there are not many left of any of the four of them.  So don’t wait or you just might miss out – click here to shop.

It might be a little hard to tell in this photo, but that flower image comes pre-printed on a die-cut transparency.  How much fun is that?  The big blue label is a cardstock die cut.  Of course all the cardstock and dp comes in the kit as well, along with the ribbon.  The sentiment is from the TE stamp setA Year of Sweet Sentiments ans was punched using SU oval punches.  In the center of the flower I added a red Rain Dot.  I love those things!

This was a very quick card which is one of the really fun aspects of these Spring Spectacular kits – you really don’t even need stamps.  Of course they’ll work wonderfully with any stamp images as well!

And now onto the *dog* part of my post…we took Tessa to the vet this evening to get her checked out and get some info.  We are such novice dog owners after living with our birds for over 15 years – it’s pretty funny really.

Tessa weighs a whopping 4.5 pounds, which the vet said is the perfect weight for her size.  He said she only needs about 1/4 cup of food per day – wow!  He estimates her age at between 2 and 3 years and his guess for breed is indeed long haired chihuahua as was our initial guess.  For many reasons we had moved away from that thought over the past week (you should hear her deep little *woof woof* bark!), but the vet said that was his best guess.  I’m sure he knows more than we do in that area!  LOL!

They gave her her first round of shots and she needs to go back in 3 weeks for more and then will need to be scheduled to be neutered.  She did really well at the vet’s office despite having to wait quite awhile since they were running behind.  She did get really frightened for just a little while, but then calmed down.  When we got home we took her for a nice long walk.  Boy does she ever love that harness and leash!

That’s it for me tonight.  I hope you are checking out the incredible sneak peeks from Taylor and the Baker’s Dozen.  The TE Release will be Friday morning at 8am PST.  Taylored Expressions is releasing 5 stamp sets this time and I promise you – there is something for just about everyone in this release!  I’ll have a new release card for you on Friday.  Thanks for stopping by and thanks for reading about my dog.  I’m pretty over the moon and might prattle on a bit.  LOL!

.

I have another SUO card to share with you today. This one features Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette and Vanilla to showcase the stamp set Friends 24-7.  The layout from this card comes from page 22 of the Stampin’ Up! catalog.  I added some Kiwi corduroy brads.  The huge scallop border is acheived with a 1/4″ circle punch.  I think this card is pretty self-explanatory.

One of my favorite tricks to teach new stampers (works great for seasoned stampers who need a kick in the mojo too!) is to find a card layout in the catalog (like this one from page 22), then find a color combo from somewhere else in the catalog (like this one from page 53) and then use a stamp set you have that’s not pictured on either of those pages.  This takes away a lot of the guess work in the design of your card, but still gives you something brand new and unique!  This is why our catalogs are called the Idea Book & Catalog!  🙂

Speaking of which….I placed my Demonstrator Sneak Peek Pre-order last night.  I’ve NEVER expedited shipping on an SU order before, but I did for this one.  I don’t know what got into me!  *giddies*  I’m going to need to read up on the SU rules (I can never keep it straight) about what can be shared before July 1st when the new IB&C goes live and what has to wait.  A note to my customers:  Remember that if you want the special pre-order price of $7 for a new catalog you must pay me by June 13th.  After that they will be the regular price of $10.

I’ve got to get ready for work.  Thanks for stopping by!

In the SCS SU Demonstrator Forum there is a section for special Demo Challenges and one of those is called WICKED.  What does that mean?  According to the challenge description – in slang it means:
wonderful; great; masterful; deeply satisfying: He blows a wicked trumpet.
adverb Slang. very; really; totally: That shirt is wicked cool.

But here in the Stampin’ UP! Demonstrator world it means:
Wonderfully Inspiring Challenges Keep Educating Demos!

Each month the coordinators invite someone to be the WICKED Hostess and present some challenges and for June they invited ME!!!  How cool, huh?  I’m pretty excited!  If you are a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator please click here to view the challenges and PLEASE play along!  You have all month, but why wait?  I can’t share those challenges here, but I can share samples I made for them.  Here’s my first sample.

I love the way this card turned out!  I used Trendy Trees with Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and white.  There’s dp from both Candy Lane and Sweet Slumber.  I used the swirly tree top to stamp tone on tone to create a background pattern on the pink panel.  For the trees I used my stamp-a-majig to first stamp the swirly top in pink and then slide it over just slightly and stamp again in RHR.  The one different tree is covered with little drops of crystal effects and then Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Did you see my post a week ago about the little dog we found?  Wow – what a difference a week makes!  No one came forward to claim this little gem (yes we checked to be sure she’s not chipped, we put signs up, registered her on the web, etc.) and in the process we fell hard for her.  Yep, Curt and I are both head over heals in love with our little Tessa (short for The Contessa).  Friday night we went to Petco and bought her a bed (which she loves!), harness, leash, bowl and toy. I’m sure there will be a lot more purchases in the near future.  😉  I know I said she was a chihuahua in that other post, but the longer we have her, the more we doubt that.  I will be curious to see what the vet thinks when we take her in for a check up this week.  Do you have any guesses?

Although we have considered and looked at puppies over the past few years, there have been several reasons we had decided not to get a dog – the biggest of those being our two macaws and their fear of furry animals in the house.  Amazingly, they’ve done quite well with Tessa so that made it possible for us to consider keeping her.  She’s incredibly well-behaved – doesn’t get up on the couch when we are eating and is leaning quickly that she can’t be on the couch when we are holding one of the birds.  She’s playful, but can also sit in my lap for hours while I read a book or work on the computer!

I see God’s providential hand so much in the many circumstances that worked together to bring her to us…I could list on and on the many little details that had to have worked out just so for us to have been able to keep her.  I am so thankful and happy for this sweet unexpected blessing!

 Don’t forget that the Stampin’ Up! Last Chance Lists were released this morning – both stamp sets and accessories.  Some of the accessories are available at a discount and all accessories are only available while supplies last.  Stamp sets are available through the end of June.  Click here to check out the lists.

There is so much going on this week – my head is spinning.  Besides everything listed above Taylored Expressions is gearing up for a huge release on Friday and I have lots to do to make sure you get all the info you need.  Sneak Peeks begin on Wednesday, so be sure to stay tuned in to Taylor’s blog and also be sure you are subscribed to the TE newsletter (see the home page of the TE Store)!

Thanks for stopping by.  I plan to share another SUO sample tomorrow.  I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!