Do you still remember me???

Well guess what?   It is November and I have not been on this blog for over 6 weeks, and for that I am sorry.
What has been happening over here in Crystal's life you may be asking....well lket me tell you.  The day after my last post I put in an application with a bus driving company. Well the next day I was called for an interview and two days later I started my training.  As of he 14th I was officially a licensed B driver.

Now though that I am all done my training I am so hoping I will be back to posting more regularily.
In the meantime my dad got a card with a monetary gift from the guys he works with and he wanted to send them a thank you card , two actually for each of the lunch rooms.  This is one of the two that I made up for him.  The horse unfortunately is not Stampin Up ( I so wish we had just one really nice horse set) I then used the hat and boots from the westerny set we have that the name has slipped my mind.  I in the past had a friend (Gloria from gloriousgreetings) that made me a card and she made the twine into a lasso look and I just thought how lovely it would be to add to this card.

I hope you enjoyed and thank you for oming back for a visit.

Until next time
Happy Stamping
Crystal

WELL September sure was a right off and I am so sorry to left any of you that come loyally to see me.  However we have had some issues within the household. Those o you that know me personally know that we have four generations living on the property. Myself with my husband and kids, my parents and my moms mum ( aka grandma).  Well my father a week after labour day was on a bike tour with a couple of guys from his work and 5 other men ( 8 in total) well he had an accident and broke his leg in three places.  Oh and did I mention that he was in Wiarton.  Yep needless to say Tuesday mom and I were on our way up to Owen Sound once they knew that was where he had to be sent to since London would have had him waitting 5-10 days for his surgery.  The hospital was so good to us calling us a hotel and getting us a less expensive rate since we were up the for a loved on that was going to be having surgery. 

Then we have my poor grandma ( she is 85) well she has to do her driving test and she failed and has to wait for another couple weeks before she can try again.  What does this mean it means my grandmother that drives herself everywhere and is SOOO independant needs to either have you drive her or be with her when she drives.

Needless to say it has been interesting around here OH and me...yes me it is my blog,I am terrified of horses well because Richard works shift work and dad is not able to walk on his leg I have been doing the nightly chores.  I know funny huh!!! My mom comes out as well so we have each other as support ( I have an ankle replacement and metal up the leg and my mom has two knee replacements).

All this said I still have fit in a card class, got the first month of hotfood orders for the school made, copied and sent home. I have not though gotten any pictures of the new stuff I had made so ....yes I am finally to the card part of the blog...giggle

This card I made back in the summer and I do not believe I have shown it to you yet.
It uses the Flirtatious DSP and Greenhouse Garden stamp set.

So thanks for coming by and listening to my excuse for not being around....but it was all true and well family will always come first, BUT believe me I am excited to get my pictures all loaded up and show them to you all.

Until next time
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Field Flowers are one of my Favorites!!!!!

Good Tuesday Evening,

It is late and on a school night but hey that is how the cookie crumbles around here on Tuesday evenings.
So is it wrong to be in love with a stampset????.....not if you are a stamper...smile

Well I am a stamper and I am in love with one set in particular and it is Field Flowers.....oh my.  I am thinking I should really pair it up with my other love and that is the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP...Oh all the ideas....

This card however is paired up with the other delicious paper in the holiday mini Spiced Cake DSP I personally would never have thought to put BBreeze with MMustard but hey guess what it is beautiful!!!!!!  Add the feild flowers and a few pearls and a little CChip scallop dotted GGrain ribbon and you get a fairly pretty card if I may say so myself.  Well actually me and the 4 other ladies in the club thought it was pretty too...so there...LOL

Now that I am done bragging ( sorry if it really came across that way by the way....so not me) I am going to hit the hay. My baby is having her first day of SK tomorrow and the hubby and I are going for a much awaitted breakfast...it is my favorite meal to eat out ( unless of course you are taking me to the Keg or Ruth Chris's Steakhouse...yuummmm, expensive but still for a treat yummmm.

Until another day
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Mocha Paper....oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Sunday Evening!!

Well can you believe that there is only 2 more sleeps before all ( most ) of our kiddies are back to school and the routines get back into motion.  I myself like to have some routine in our life and both my kids so love school so sending them back and the first day of school is not as stressful as it can be for others.

Anyways onto the card I am so in love with this DSP everything about it screams " I've got class"  and richness.  This is one of the cards we made at the club of ladies on Wednesday.  This was pretty much the favorite of the day...I will show the other two in the next couple of days.

Well it is late I am tired and have an exciting day tomorrow as I get to see my BFF. We have not been able to get together too much this summer because she and her family have had a couple really exciting and big trips planned.  We are also due to the holiday all being able to get together as whole famillies not just her and I with the kids, hubbies actually will be there. I always like it when we ge together with everyone.  So I look so forward to tomorrow afternoon.

Until tomorrow
Happy Stamping
Crystal

A complete CASE from convention

Hello and good afternoon,

Yep it is Thursday and there is only 5 days before my son goes back to school and my daughter has 6.  She has made my summer go by way to fast by making me do a countdown of how many more sleeps before she gets to go back to school two weeks into summer holidays.  Do not get me wrong I love my little girl and how much she loves school but let me just say it has been EXTREMELY annoying.

Anyways enough about how she cannot entertain herself but onto the the card I got as a swap from convention I thought it was so cute and I know I have seen similar out there in blogging world but I was happy to have one in my hand so thank you Carolyn Dobie from NY for swapping with me and this is my take on it ....LOL the only thing I changed is the extra layer under the strawberry and my words otherwise it was all her.

I hope you all like it, I know I just love it when the smart, creative people out there who show me how to use my punches in different ways than the obvious.

Until Tomorrow
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Oh and just incase you were unaware the Holiday Mini is current as of NOW so enjoy writting out your wish lists and if you would like to give me a copy I will have a copy for those phonecall I just may get in about 2 1/2 months from now....no worries though as we will keep them updated if there are those items you just have to have now.....smile
If you have not recieved a Holiday mini as of yet and you are in Southern Ontario and do not already have a regular demonstrator send me an email and I will be sure to get one out to you right away

Sending a Kiss

Good Tuesday Morning to you all!!!!!!

I have been a busy little beaver in my scrap room and I am not able to show you any of the new stuff as of yet.  I have a swap I am doing with a lovely demo in Cambridge Ontario that I am just about finished and rea to send out to her. I have a club meeting for the first time out of this catalogue on Wednesday. Another class in September I am just starting to get the product cut up for so in the coming future there will be lots to show you.  However today I am showing a card I did at a camp early this month.

I made mine a getwell as we had an aquaintance that fell and broke her hip and has been recovering, she is tough lady and I know she will do well but still everyone loves to get a card while still in the hospital don"t they!!!!

I used the new set Petite Pairs (LOVE IT) it has sayings that go nicely with 1/22 on outside and 1/2 inside....it is just perfect.  So her's said "Sending a Kiss"......"to make it better".

Hope you liked it
Feel free to come by and visit again
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Totally inspired by Lyssa

Good Friday Afternoon!!!!

Boy does a week fly when you are making two trips to London everyday....that is a 45 min drive to and home in the morning and yep again in the afternoon.  It is so worth it though as my son absolutely loves going and it is educational and good for him as well. However it sure makes the days go by fast when you are always watching the clock so to not be late getting him.

Anyways on to the card I was so totally inspired by Lyssa here is her blog   http://songofmyheartstampers.typepad.com/song_of_my_heart_stampers/

My card looks nothing like hers but go there anyways and you will see why I have been inspired.  She has been doing a 31 day of delicate doillies stamp set but there is a few hello doily cards thrown in there as well....enjoy

In the meantime thank you so much for stopping by today
Have a great weekend and Happy Stamping
Crystal

Medallion Thank You

Good Sunday Afternoon

I know I was supposed to have done this yesterday but my mom and dad had gotten tickets to take our family and my brother and his wife to Toronto for dinner at Midevil Times.  Talk about some excited kids, we did not tell them where their Nana & Papa were taking them but they were so pleastantly surprised.

Anyways about the card I had gotten a couple swaps from convention and have seen it done a few times since then on some blogs I have been known to stalk...smile.  I though had not put my first order in from the new catalogue until I got back from convention so for one of m classes I had not yet recieved the Hello Doily stamp so I used the Medallion background and took it from there.  It is hard to tell but the green layer in the center of the medallion is our 2 3/8 scallop circle and has rhinestones on every other bump.

I really enjoyed the simolicity of this card and yet being able to use so many different accessories was lovely.

Well thanks so much for stopping by and until next time
Happy Stamping
Crystal

I am in LOVE with making the Pop Up cards

                                     
Hello there my friends,

I am so excited about this card.  My girlfriend called me wanting to know if I would make her three cards larger than the standard size since all of them were going to be hand delivering them.

The first one she wanted is this one, we have a mutual aquaintance that on her wedding day last year got really sick and had to leave fairly quickly after the meal so there is going to be a little wing-ding of something for them this year on their first anniversary.

Okay so here is some of the info you are likely wanting to know

The front uses dsp from Timelss Portrait, Cherry Cobbler 1 1/4 grosgrain and NEW quilted satin (from the Holiday Mini) and the most lovely set called Feild Flowers

The inside the whole bride was made using the heart punch I am sure if you are visiting my blog you are a blog hopper kind of person and I got the idea from many different blogs out there certainly not thought up on my own...smile her bottom half was run throught the embossing folder called Elegant lines then rhinestone gems were added sparatically and our new Dazzling glitter glue stuff that is as well new in the holiday mini to give it some shine and then the pearls all along the neckline. 

The groom I found rather hard but he too is made on top out of a heart punch.

I really enjoyed making this card and I hope you found something inspiring

Until tomorrow (yes I have another)

Happy Stamping

Crystal 

Sailling Away will soon be sailling off

Good Day everyone!!

So I am going to start off right away by reminding you all there is only a couple more weeks and your chance to get this lovely boat will be gone....your boat will have set sail...hee,hee

I know lame but hey it is Monday and well that is my only excuse.  In all seriousness though really this a la carte stamp will be gone due to the Summer mini being done as of Aug 31st.  I have so enjoyed it and the Nautical DSP what a great opportunity for camping scrapbooks, just male scrappages, manly cards there was so many perfect opportunities for it and I will greatly miss using it my classes. 

Now as for the layout I have used this a few times it seems to be a go back to one from SCS that I just loved when I did the weekly challenges there...haven't been there in awhile maybe I should head back for some new inspiration...smile

Well I wanted to get this card on and now I need to go and finish dishes before going to the cleaning job....that pays me....LOL

Until next time
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Easy Events...."for baby"

Good Saturday Evening to you all.

So how small of a world is it when your husband's family has a family that are close friends since he was little.  Then he gets married and his wife tries to starts a business and goes to some wonderful ladies house for a workshop and guess what..... her son is dating the daughter to this family that has been my husband families friend how small of a world is this.  Well to make this short story long... they have gotten married last summer and they are now expecting their first child...so here is one my first attempts at a baby card for the baby shower.  It is also one of the cards that we did at a current stamp camp...it is one of the easier ones we did, which it is always nice to have at least one or two of these so to keep class on schedule and then allow for a couple of complicated cards.

I hope you liked it and it was inspiring in some way for you
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Convention Inspired Pop-Up card

Good Friday Afternoon!!!

Can you believe it, because I cannot....LOL  I have a post two days in a row...I know WOW

So with this card I did it in a class in July and then because some ladies that did not come to that one were able to come in August I just repeated since it was new to all of them and I was 100% inspired by Shalae and Shelli's demo at convention.  I know that any of you that had been there, theirs was an over the top WOW and well mine is not as wowwy but the ladies all loved it all the same and were inspired to be able to add to it on their own (class it just would have been too long when there was 3 more cards to be made).
I did change it up in so many ways as it is not a birthday gift card holder, I did mine as a 5x5 card, made it a belly band to keep it closed, used flowers instead of the bright HBirthday colours the demos used as it was for a child, and I left mine open to be what I thought would be a great get well or thinking of you card.
Back to the how you could take it to the next step would be that you could do a couple more pop outs with butterflies or a flower that fell out of the pot etc, etc....
So I hope you liked my card today and found it inspiring in some way

Happy Stamping
Crystal

I told you, you would see Raining Flowers from me again!!!!!!!

Wow Happy Thursday to you all,

I cannot believe that my parents were so right on the money when they used to say the older you get the faster time goes......it really rather stinks if you ask me....smile

Anyways as I said in my last post which I know have been very sparatic lately but it is summer and well I can only get better at it.  I have to sa I liked this set when I saw it in the catalogue but then thought you know I may be kind of limited with it but then when I got it into my hands at convention and saw some samples made with it I really felt it growing on me again.

This card actually came to me when another one flopped for a camp and I LOVE it myslef I was so happy with how it turned out.  It is definitely a very blingy (new word) card but I am sure I will find the perfect opportunity for it.

Hope you enjoyed it and found some inspirations.
Also as a last reminder this month is the 3 designer papers get 1 free promotion.

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Convention Swap & August's Promotion

Good Monday to you all,

I have not had the opportunity to upload too many pictures from convention and I am soo sorry about that BUT for some reason any of the really fun photos from Main Stage did not turn out at all....so instead I happened to remember to take a picture of one of the swaps I made and this is it.

I wanted to use something new from the new catalogue and having gotten this set from the pre order ( a fun and awesome advantage to being a demo) and this is what I came up with.  Pretty much anyone thaat I handed this card to in a swap situation said they loved which was so nice to hear and I hope they are really happy with it and proud to show it off with the rest of the swaps they would have recieved.

Now one more thing before I go just so you are all aware that Stampin Up has a WONDERFUL August promotion, we have had it before but here it is again.....Buy 3 Designer Papers and get 1 for FREE!!!!  Awesome , huh?....told you
Just as a side note though this does not include the Specialty Series

Well thanks for stopping by
Hope you come back again
Crystal

P.S I have a couple seats left on Monday and Tuesday Aug 8&9th....email me to save you a seat if you have not already.

Rainy Days deserve Raining Flowers

Hello my friends,

Finally I have some pictures of cards...phew really need to get a new camera so bad it is not funny.

Anyways on Monday I had my first class since convention and wow it was almost hard to do as I had so MANY ideas running through my head from conventipn I did not know where to begin...smile.
Eventually though I did come up with three cards of my own and one that just had to be cased from a swap I recieved while in Utah.  No worries you will be sure to see them all in the coming days I just have to get them downloaded and the Cased cards originators info.

Now to the card it is a larger than average card  which I have grown to really enjoy making and the ladies that come to the class are also in favour of having a card that is a little bigger for certain occassions.
I used the new set form the catalogue that we also recieved in our convention bag called Raining Flowers at first it may seem not your type but believe me it will grow on you quickly and there is so many possibilities, you will definitely see more of it from me anyways. The other set is Occassions Alphabet,  I SO enjoy this set and love it so much more than the old Defining set we had with words and their definitions.
Paper are from the collection of new In Colours for this year and of course a little bling, having the pearls along the scallops of the Scallop Trim Border Punch.

Well I sure hope you liked it and found something about it inspiring, and I will try to do my best and be a more regular pposter on this fun thing called a blog.

Until later
Happy Stamping
Crystal

I AM BAAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I just say WOW, what a whirlwind of fun, info overload, and FUN oops already said that....giggle.

I must say I do understand why demos make this a yearly event, there is so much inspiration, tips, swaps, ideas etc that gets put into the 4 days of convention.  Gloria and I found out that we can travel together just fine.  Considering she got to hang out with me the whole flight home while I was so not feeling well.  Thankfully the throwing up and such came the day we were coming home and not at the the beginning of the convention like another lady had that was sittting in front of us on the plane back to Detroit had happen to her....yuck!! 

I am anxious to get some pictures on here and I am sure if I just ask Richard will burn the camera onto a CD for me since the camera and my computer are not friends and I will share.

So until  tomorrow, I am off to get  my class ready for Monday
Crystal

So here is the Deal!!!

So I have so not been a reliable demonstrator with my not posting BUT in my defense it has been SOOOO busy here and I really do not know how some other demos/bloggers do it....keep up the house , stamp everyday and have stuff to show on their blogs.  All I have to say is kudos to them as I am not as organized as I should be.

Now as for today no I do not have anything to show you BUT again it has been an extremely busy first week off of school.  My son has a severe speech delay due to a hearing loss in one of his ears and he is usually scheduled two weeks of speech camp at an amazing place called London Speech and Language and as much as it is good for him it is an 45-60 min drive to it then home, then at 3:00 it is trio to London again and then home.   He is done now for a week then he gets another one and then a last one in August.

So it has been busy and then tonight went from hectic to sad.  Anyone who knows me or has been following me for the little while that I have been doing this knows that I live in the house I grew up in and that we are on a small farm.  Well 22 years ago my dad got his dream when he got his first horse and tomorrow morning her and one of the others that has been here for a good 15 years are having to get put down tomorrow.  We have never had a dog or cat live for as long as we have had these two horses.
Anyone that is animal lover even if it is not a horse per say will understand the saddness that our two households are going through so please forgive me but I will not likely be back for over a week because after tomorrow and our having our weepy day(LOL like I am not already having a weepy evening) I really need to get my act together and get my swaps done for convention and then Wednesday am my girlfriend/downline and I will be off to Utah for some major stamping excitement. So when I return I will be sure to share all the fun and exciting things we did.

So until then have a great week + and
Happy Stamping

Crystal
My daughter riding the beloved Cheyenne who needs to be put down....she is three here and only 5 now...and certainly not understanding the whole thing but she has her memories.

MIA.... Yes I have been missing, BUT very busy!!!!!!

I am so sorry that  I have been so busy to post but my downline and friend well we are in a local craft fair so we have been so busy creating craft gift ideas and etc that I have not been abkle to get to the posting.  I have the 4 cards we made at the last camp/class but I have not even took pictures of them yet so they will be coming soon. 

Sadly I will not even be able to post any pictures of the craft fair either because my boys (son and hubby) are off to the north for a manly camping trip for four days and Caleb being only 8 (almost 9...oh so sad) pictures are a must and we of course being such a non-tech family only have one camera.  No worries though in a couple weeks I get to take the camera for 4 days to Utah for the Stampin Up convention so craft fair will have to be the sacrifice...hee,hee.

Here is solution to not getting any pictures...IF you are in the southern Ontario region and would like to come for the fair it is on Hwy 19 (Plank Rd) at the coolest store ever...makes me think of those Plantation stores you see in the south on I-75 on the way to Florida.  The name of this place is Coyle's, it is supposed to be a lovely weekend, why not get out for a drive and come see myself and Gloria, we would love to see you.

Off to finish labelling
Until later
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Did you know Teachers Appreciation Day was in April??????

Okay first of all this is so far from my own idea...I first saw the idea on Patty Bennett's blog and then many other places after.
Now I have for the last couple of years done stuff/ helped around the school for Teachers Appreciation Day and Caleb's teacher has always gotten a gift well this year guess what .......IT WAS IN APRIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so not happy I have been wondering why I have not been approached and when I went to the office Friday I found out I was not going to be approached since the day had been and gone ( I will defend myself ...we were in Florida...ooops).

So anyways I thought I had better get cracking and get the kids teachers something so I made this one for my sons teacher....not sure IF a man is really interested in an item like this but hey he can give it to his wife.  My daughters teacher gets one as well but my picture will not upload but hers is made with the Love Letter DSP and I stamped the Ornate Blossom and did some layering of it.....hope they like them.

Now that I have done my little vent and showed you my project I am off to bed....head is throbbing like crazy.

Happy Stamping
Crystal

First time button user!!!!!

I have no idea why i am so intimidated by these little guys but for some reason buttons and I have always shied away from each other....smile

So this is one of the four cards made at my last class.

I really do not mean to be short but it being a holiday still and my house is in desperate need of some tender loving care.

Have a great rest of the weekend
Happy Stamping
Crystal

I am so in love with this set!!!!!!

Okay  here we are Sunday already!!

Tomorrow we get to all be together one more day off before everyone goes back to the old grind.
I have been very busy in the craft room lately. I am part of a craft fair at a local bulk/country store (Coyle's) in June.  I am so excited for it and so I along with another demonstrator we are busy little beavers making all kinds of samples and 3D items to show off.    So if you would liketo come and see us and all the other vendors come on by on Hwy 19 ( Plank Rd)  in Tillsonburg, Ontario.

Now as for todays card I have made one card similar back in April, it was different colours and a different stamp set but the layout is the same.  I also was inspired to make this card for a friend that comes to all my classes ...she loves blue, she loves flowers and I knew she was interested in making a larger card as oppossed to the standard size.   Since we have already made this card I can tell you tat she loved it as did everyone else....phew!!!!  It is funny how you make cards for these ladies monthly and yet everytime I worry what if they don't like them.

Well I gotta go, have a great rest of the long weekend
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Sail Away Twisted Easel Card

Okay so here is the deal.  I have seen many of these easle cards and they are not something I was really all that interested in them then my friend and fellow stamper showed me one of the twisted easle cards you can see hers  her blog http://www.gloriasgreetings.blogspot.com/ and I fell in love ( with the card ...smile)

Now if you go to the gallery on splitcoaststampers you are going to find that a great portion of the cards sampled are the square 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 cards and one of the larger fronted cards is Glorias and I personally liked it much better than the square and for a couple reasons....1) it is a standard shape card that fits in the regular standard envelopes....2) you can mail it where the smaller square is not ideal for mailling. Okay and one more reason I like decorating the front of a standard card.

Lastly this card when we made it in the class I after putting this one together thought it would look a little nicer with some brads in each of the corners so that the white did not look so bare, we put not quite navy brads but the silver brads would have looked lovely as well.

I sure hope that you liked it and thanks so much for stopping by
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Not Missing just being a Deliquent with the Blogging

So 5 years ago I signed up as a demonstrator coming this July and the year before then is when I was first introduced to this company and certainly celery was one of the first inks I ever recieved and it has been a very, very long time since it and I have gotten together.....and well, yep still like it and pretty happy with my monochramatic card too.

I will be demoing this card tomorrow for my summer mini class....sure hope the girls like it as much as I do.

Well it has been a long dreary day here and I have a little more house work to do in the morning before
everyone comes.

Hope you all had a great weekend
Thanks for stopping by

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Fabulous Florets

Saturday ...it is Saturday!!!!!

So I have been awful at being here every day as I thought I would be but life gets in the way and then it
does not help when i NEED  a new camera as mine is still annoying me to no end.

This though is one of the few cards I have made with our new Summer mini....is it not really cute!!!? ( the mini not the ..LOL)

Now with two extra boys here and a little girl that is doing all in her power to fit in I had better make this short so to give the boys a break and let Sarah know she is still special....smile

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Countryside....last couple of days to get it!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW we are having the most peculiar spring ever with tons of rain, I know I should not complain as there are places in the world that would just love to have even just a little bit and here I am complaining
All the same I would really enjoy a sunny warm beautiful day...anytime now.....whatever

Okay so I have been very bad at posting regularily and I promise this is going to stop...things are settling down around here, my father who is only a young 61 has been giving us all a few scares but he seems to be on the mend and I feel more relaxed with him feeling more relaxed so I look forward to getting into my beloved scraproom and creating again.

I am excited to be able to go to a craft fair very soon sooooo I have tons of ideas going through my head ( doesn't help that I just looked over all of my BFF and fellow stampin up demo and well lets just say WOW) anyways June is going to come very quickly so I need to get my butt in gear.

First though I need to get some sleep as I have an early morning at school to make some fruit kabobs for the snack program.

Good night and happy stamping
Crystal

ANOTHER APRIL SPECIAL CARD

Happy Thursday to you all

Happy because we get to have kids home and hubby home for an extra couple days.  Kids and I will be having a little campout in the basement with movies, monday we will be getting together with my BFF who just happens to be the mother of my kids friends as well.  We have not gotten together for almost a month now so it will be great to see them all.

So if you have not heard of this awesome special for April you have got to go and check it out otherwise you will have to wait until July to be able to get this paper and stamp set .... however you could have it now you are free to order them Stamp set and DSP after a $25.00 order.  Can I just ssay the paper all on its own is absolutely stunning

Anyways this is one of the 4 four cards that a group of us made on Monday at my class.

Hope you  like it and I will hopefully be back throughout the weekend, in the meantime
Happy Stamping
Crystal

A 40th Anniversary card

I had a friends mother call me up and ask for a couple cards as she had some siblings that were having their 40th anniversaries this year....one being May 1st she needed it pretty quickly.  Now with 40th being ruby the closest I could think of was Burgundy and because she was not going to be mailing this card but giving it to them personally she had asked for a bit larger card than the average standard card.

Since there has been a few occassions lately for me to have to make the little larger cards I find they are getting alot easier to do.

Now as for the card I was rather proud of it and happy with the results....not to sound braggish but I think alot of it is becasue I really do like Bravo Burgundy but do not grab it very often....may need to change that.

I took the opportunity of it being a larger to do a little more decorating inside as well

It is a bit of a sneek peek of a coming embossing folder you will have the opportunity to buy from the Summer mini that is available as of May 1st.  After I embossed it I then took the sponge daubers in Burgundy and Artichoke and lightly coloured embossed sections.  I used the burgundy marker then to print in the #40 to make the card more personal.

So I hope this has inspired you in some way and that you liked it.
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Finally back!!!!!!

Good Afternoon

Well finally I am getting my card uploaded.  I got a bunch of pictures taken and uploaded so I will finally have some cards to show you.

So when I got back from Florida as I was telling you the other day I had a hard time coming up with some ideas so I went surfing and I just loved this layout and I can take no credit other than to say thank you to stampcrave
http://www.stampcrave.blogspot.com/
She is absolutely amazing you really need to check out her blog.
You will find it dated April 4th on her blog

Well I am starving and so is my daughter so I shall say good day for now and I promise to be back tomorrow with another card.

Till then Happy Stamping
Crystal

Sorry for my disappearance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I have no excuse other than that we got home from Florida Thursday evening, I have a class on Monday that I just nicely finished making the cards  ( cutting close aren't I...smile)  I seemed to have lost my mojo in the travel and needed to get out the catalogue for some inspiration, etc.   Then while we were gone My father got really sick and has been giving us a bit of a scare lately and then I had an order for a couple of 40th anniversary cards and well the next thing I knew it is Sunday .   Oh and did I tell you all that I hate my camera, until we get ourselves a new one I have to have  pictures taken uploaded to my hubby's computer and then he burns them onto a cd that I can then upload onto my computer....now I know you are all thinking why not just use his....well because there are somethings this lady does not like to share and that is computers, his is all different from mine and honestly it is faster for him to burn and give me the cd....pathetic I know but hey we all have something about us that is weird .....right???!!!!! ....LOL

Well to get to my point I have gotten some cards now made up to show you but we also are in the process of getting me our Florida trip pictures so I can make the kids each a book with my MDS about what was hightlights for them from the trip......so please bear with me and I should have one to show you a little later today if not first thing in the morning.

In the meantime have a great rest of the day AND
Happy Stamping...( I have been)
Crystal

AND THE NEXT SET OF WINNERS ARE.......

Well yet again it must have seemed that I went into hiding but in all actuallity we just lost our internet for a day and a half, I have been busy cleaning house, packing for Florida, preparing for the last two classes I have this week BUT I have taken the time to have my daughter draw the three names.  As I had mentioned last week I was unable to get to the Home & Rec show this year but I was going to do a draw for each day anyways for the customers that have bought from me in the last couple of years.

So with no further delay......

#1 Winner of the Lvl 2 Hostess set  Slice of Life goes to .....Donna Moore

#2 Winner of the Lvl 2 Hostess set  Apple Blossomsgoes to.....Aldora Kitching

#3 Winner of the Lvl 1 Hostess set Silhouette Sentiments goes to ....Manuella Kitching

Congratulations ladies, I will do my best to get these out to you before I leave.

Until Tomorrow as I have few cards to show you that have not been uploaded yet.
Happy Stamping
Crystal

AND the WINNERS ARE....................................

First let just say that for you that are saying ...WHAT??????

I had sent out an email to all the customers that have bought from this year telling them since I was unable to go to our Home and Rec show this year as a vendor...long story and really not the important part.  Anyways I was going to do a draw anyways and since I saved the fee to set up I thought I would do some extras.  My customers are SOOOO worth it all anyways and what fun emails I had gotten back about so I know they are excited and appreciate it.

So with no further delay here are the winners

The name drawn for Wednesday...she will be the winner of Fabric covered brads from the current mini and a spool of 1/8 Expresso taffeta ribbon......Congratulations Diane Hutchison.

The name drawn for Thursday.....she will be the winner of  a Cajun Craze ink pad and the a la carte stamp Tiny Teacup Stamp.........Congratulations Cindy Parker

The name drawn for Friday......she will be the winner of  Punch Bunch (sale-a-bration set) stamp set and a package of Whisper White cardstock.......Congratulations Linda Moore

The name drawn for Saturday.......she will be the winner of  the Love Letter Designer Paper.....Congratulations Shirley Magoffin.

and lastly the name drawn for Sunday...she is the winner of a package each of  the rhinestones and  pearls........Congratulations Sonja Sousa

So congratulations ladies I will get these out to you all ASAP, now the rest of you do not give up on me yet since the Home & Rec show is actually this weekend coming I will be doing a draw for those actual days and again announcing on Sunday  so you still have a chance to win something

Thanks for stopping by and....
Happy Stamping
Crystal

My 2nd Workshop Card

Okay first let me just say you are not seeing it wrong .... yep it is crooked....ooops, I  will be sure to make sure everyone else gets there's on straight.....LOL

Anyways this is for a young lady's workshop and even though approx 5 of them are more advanced than this card she is likely going to be having a couple ladies that have not ever done this before so I was trying to make cards that are a little easier and yet have some wow to them.

However it is the last couple days before March Break is over so I am going to make this a fast post....hope you liked the card I was inspired by some talented lady from a demo only site.
Happy Stamping
Crystal

A card for an upcoming camp and workshop

This is a complete case of  card from Stampin Connection  Eileen LeFevre I mean I changed a little but very little.  I loved the freshness and springy feeling of it. 7

Well it is Friday of March break, the week went by quite quickly and we did nothing overly exciting as it was not a good week for some of the families that have kids the same age as mine.  You know what theough really there is no reson for them to be on the go all the time just because it is a break from school....also since we will be leaving for Florida in another couple weeks they will have all their fun then....smile

Our fun plans for the day is getting groceries and vacuuming...wohoo do I know how to have fun or what!!!! Maybe I will get to have my own kind of fun in the form of stamping a little later....hee,hee

In the meantime hope you all have a fantastic day
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Sketch challenge #324 from Splitcoast.

One minute it was Monday and the next thing it is Thursday, so I am a couple days behind on my sketch challenge since I have finally got myself on a bit of a schedule again....yeah!!!!!, but i am sure no one will really care

So I am loving the April special that we have just heard about from SU.  The April special is a sneek of a stamp set and designer paper.  I will share more with you soon. Just so you know though this s some of the paper and one of the stamps....hee, hee .... hate to rub it in but there are some definite perks to being a demo.

In the meantime you have 14 more days before the ending of Sale-a-Bration.  For any of you in the Southern Ontario area and would like to come by and make 4 cards and have a fun afternoon Monday March 28th at 1:00pm email or call me to save you a seat and get your supplies all put together for you.
Saturday Mar 26th is still open as well but unless you call me it will be cancelled since most replies have been for Monday's class.

Well for now that is it for now and I hope you all have a lovely evening
Happy Stamping
Crystal

My mojo got rejuvinated at Mojo Monday #182

MONDAY!!!!!! The first day of March Break and my kids have already been at it..ahhhhhggggg...LOL

Actually they have been no different than any other day...it is the love/hate relationship that most siblings have, however I do not remember it too much with my own brother but I am sure he remembers it different...smile
Also they cannot be that bad if I was able to go to my beloved craft room (that is under some major purging ( three arbage bags worth), rearranging and soon to be construction...love having a handy hubby)

Okay so I have so many thoughts going through my brain lately that it is been getting a little oerwhelmed that I needed some help SOOOOO I have gone onto the almost forgotten about site Splitcoaststampers and printed off a bunch...and I mean a bunch of old sketches
, because well I know the papers I want to use and usually the stamp I want to use but then I come to a halt so I printed of the sketches to give me a starter and I just build on it from there, sometimes the outcome looks nothing like the sketch that gets me started...LOL

Now today I thought hey why not do a MOJO Monday sketch , and so I did if you want to see it just go here:  http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/  you will see the challenge, the teams cards and then anyone else that wanted to post their project is below....FUN huh?!!!!!

So I hope you liked it, again I pulled out a set I have not played with for awhile as it was feeling a little neglected....kind of like that little salt shaker from the Uncle Bens commercials..my kids are so sad over that commercial and are so happy that pepper is putting up signs to try and find his friend...LOL  kids are very funny!!!!!  Now that I have gotten way off topic I am going to let you all go, hope you found some inspiration from my card in some way and thanks for stopping by....come back anytime\

Happy Stamping
Crystal

My Friday Mash Up submission

Well I am back sooner than I thought I would be but I need to post my card on the blog before getting it onto the home website of http://fridaymashup.blogspot.com/ this Friday they gave us a sketch challenge.  I had this great intention of playing along every week and then life got in the way so here I go again....start the week with mojo monday and end with the friday mash up....LOL

So go to the website you will see the challenge for the week and a few samples, up load your sample and well it is just fun.

I have been trying to grab some stamp sets I have not played with for some time and this is one of them...I LOVE this set but for some reason with all the new ones in the mini and the awesome sale-a-bration sets I seem to have been neglecting the good old reliable ones from old...smile

Well since I just posted my last card all of 20 minutes ago I am fresh out of stuff to talk to you about....hee,hee....will never happen, those that know me I never run out of things to talk about.

All the same I am off for now and I think with all the ideas running around in my itty bitty brain I will go do some more creating before it is time to go to the basement for our family pizza, movie camp over.

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Here is the 2nd card as I promised

Good Saturday Afternoon

Yep I blame it on Corrine Sommerville the grey sky, wet snow and cold weather it is all her fault.....sorry Roxy :)
Really lets be honest it is no ones fault but I am sooooo ready for the green grass, leaves on the trees and all the humidity that summer brings just to get away from this gloomy weather.

On a happy note though here is the second card that I was telling you about yesterday....not to sound braggish but I am really happy with the turnout of this card, I still find that I struggle to make the cards bigger than the average size.  I don't want to have to much open space but also do not want to over accessorise so I hope you all like this card as much as I do and find some inspiration from it in some way.

I tend to forget to add supplies used so since I am thinking of it here they are:
STAMPS: Easter Blessings
INKS: Basic Grey
PAPER: Pretty in Pink, Newsprint DSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Vellum paper
ACCESSORIES: Pearls, Flower punch from the Itty Bitty Pack, Scallop edge punch, rosettes (coloured with the P in Pink marker) P in Pink Satin Ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper EF, AND the BIG SHOT....you just have to have one of these.

Well that is it for all.....I may be back later with my Friday mash up card a little later
In the meantime
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Green House Garden

Okay Lady Winter is so not wanting to leave us this year....we went from tons of rain over a two day period to an blanket of snow this morning....uhggg.

Although this is the kind of weather that gets me into the craft room and gets me creating. 

We have another couple of people leavingour congergation to go to a sign language one in another town...we will miss them but what an experience to help ones with such a hardship to deal with in their lives.  We wish all the best to these two famillies and know they will be welcomed with open arms but we still need to give a proper goodbye.  They will have their going away party this Sunday and each will recieve a card....this is one of them.

Again this card is larger for the purpose of having more room for many to write them a note. It is a whole sheet of 81/2x11.   I will post the other one tomorrow.

Hope you liked it and found a sense of inspiration
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Sweet Summer....I only wish!!!!!!!

Good Afternoon....and good it is!!!!!!

It is such a beautiful sunny day here in Southern Ontario....cold  BUT oh so sunny.

So I had not gotten my last card that we made at Mondays class and well it just seemed to fit the day of being bright and sunny looking.

This whole card was made using items that you can earn for FREE from the Sale-a-Bration promotion.
Paper is the Ice Cream Parlour paper and the stamp sets are the Sweet Summer  and/or Hello Again.

The ribbon is ot the Sale-a-Bration ribbon but is the still adorable daffodil pom-pom ribbon

So I hope you enjoyed and you still have the opportunity to receive some of these items with every $60 purchase, be sure to give me a email or call if you do not want to miss out

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Well this is all the pictures thaat will download to the computer....UHGGGGG

So I took all kinds of pictures but for some reason there is something wrong with the camera OR the laptop that I can never get the whole lot of pictures taken to load into the computer....oh well I get a couple of them for you to see our quaint little Stamp a Stack.   It may have been small but it was FUN and really for a first time around 13 people making 10 cards each it was a good size to find out what you would like to tweek if anything.

Now here is a card that was supposed to be done tomorrow at a camp but since the flu has hit a member of the family we are going t keep the germs confined to our house and the class has been post poned till next Monday March 7th.

Now I know what you are all thinking, this looks awfully familliar to the one shown a couple days ago for the family moving away....you're right I find the larger cards a little tough so I took the smaller card and worked around it to ake it bigger.  This particular card though was totally inspired by a Laura ? from SC ( a stampin up website)

So that is all for now, it has been a busy weekend, SAS yesterday and today was a party for a family leaving for Yellowknife from our congergation

Happy Stamping
Crystal

A Total Case

I really need to make a better effort to look at the names of cards that I like when looking through the Stampin Connection.  I usually scan through and it is a major blur of cards with all different things I like but I will from now on be sure to make sure that I have their names wrote down as that is what this blog is supposed to be all about showing you who and where I am inspired.

So tomorrow I will be posting some pictures from the Stamp a Stack today.  Unfortunately Gloria had some last minute sicknesses, and things come up so she ended up three people sort from the original number and I had one, however for our first ever stamp a stack we still had 15 of us.

We  handed out six little door prizes and then a real big one at the end and our winner Meghan was REALLY HAPPY to say the least ( as were her friends knowing that they would be able to share it with her...smile

So as I said I will get the pictures from my camera to the computer and upload some of them for you tomorrow.....little tired tonight.
Till then Happy Stamping
Crystal

A Farwell Card

Well we are having a going away party for a young family from our congergation.  The fathers job has relocated him and they are moving away from our little country farming town of Tillsonburg, Ontario to ...you'll never guess.....Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.  Talk about a shock to his family and what a lifestyle change it will bring.  (Personally you could not pay me to go there).

It is not very often that I make a card this big but since the whole congergation is going to want to sign it so I needed bigger than the standard size card.

Well I am off to bed as I have my first ever Stamp-a-Stack tomorrow morning, I will try to remember to take pictures and post them tomorrow and tell you all about it.

Happy Stamping
Crystal

So many Blogs have inspired this one

Good Snowy Friday Morning!!!!!!

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of the snow?  I am not a fan of any winter sports,  having a bad leg and weak bones in it because of the trauma done to it in the past and well I am just ready to hear the birdies, see green grass and leaves on the trees again.  The smell of reshly cut grass and sunscreen....ahhhhh

Well you all know that is Stampin Ups most loved time of the year when you are able to earn free stamps just by spending $60.00.  This seems to be the most popular stamp set that people are picking for free and well I thought that since I am having my monthly camp on Monday I would take the opportunity to use some of  the freebies I have chosen. 

I was totally inspired by a number of demos out there that have posted their cards of this beautiful set and this is what I did with it.

I hope you like it and if you live in the southwestern Ontario area and do not have a demonstrator and would like to earn this stamp set be sure to contact me IF you do have one please do not miss out on this fun time of year,  and call/email him/her....go now...smile

Hope you all have a great day, I all ready for the Stamp a Stack on Saturday so I will try and get back today and show you another card planned for Mondays class.

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Thanks Yolanda and Cassie

Well thanks to Yolanda I finally got it on here and now here is the next part of my job to thank the ones that gave me this award:
1. http://yolanda-tryingtobecreative.blogspot.com/
2. http://cassiescraps.blogspot.com/

Now to tell you 8 things about myself that you may not already know:

1. My husband and two children live in the house that I grew up in from the time I was 12 yrs old
2. We live in the country with a small farm.
3. My parents live only a closet away as they are in a attached apartment.
4. I love our horses at a distance, I will brush and give them treats, BUT I will NOT ride them...smile
5. My left leg from mid calf down to the ankle is all metal.
6. I was the youngest in all of Canada to get an ankle replacement...this however I am not totally proud of but hey it is the truth...LOL
7. My family is everything to me, Hubby who has stuck it out with me for 11 years and my two babies that are now 8 1/2 and 5.
8. I have MDS (from SU) and I think I am the only one that is still not sure if she in love with it yet, BUT has an addiction with buying the downloads anyway.

Now to nominate this award to 8 other blog favs of mine:

1. http://butternutsagedesigns.blogspot.com/
2. http://inkingoutofthebox.com/
3. http://dianagibbs.typepad.com/stampin_with_di/
4. http://www.stampinchic.com/
5. http://mytherapymycreations.blogspot.com/
6. http://stampingwithroxy.typepad.com/
7. http://www.inkingidaho.blogspot.com/
8. http://gretchenbarron.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Okay that was hard as there are so many blogs that I do enjoy out there and to narrow that down to only 8.....phew!!!!!

Well that is it for this post....I still feel so honoured to be given this award
Hope you continue to stop by and find inspirations
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Stylish Blog Award

Okay so I am really new at this but it has been a fantastic week, I have been awarded ntwo Stylish Blogger Awards.  Now as soon as I figure out how to paste them on to here I will do the required things of naming 8 things you do not know about me and 8 blogs I love to follow

So until tomorrow as it will likely take me that long....smile

Happy Stamping
Crystal

Nature Walk

Good Morning and Happy Sunday to you all!!!!

Well I know I already have a card on here that is extremely similar to this one in the sese that it is the same exact layout ad technique but it is all new colours and DSP.

 I have found with this journey on the Stampin Up road that I have a very short attention span.  I try to make the same cards for all the differet fuctios I have in a month and well after only the second time I fid I do not want to make it i the same colours or same stamp set for that matter.

Well this is a bit of a short post but I have company coming over tomorrow for diner and I have a house to get cleaned and  some dessert started so there is less tomorrow.

Have a great day
Happy Stamping
Crystal

A Couple Days Late but here is another Sneak Peek

WOW Where do the days go?   For some reason they are all starting to blur together...really looking forward to the long weekend.  Unfortunately my dear hubby does not get it but he atleast gets this Saturday off  (usually works six days)

We are taking our children for a movie date....they have not been for awhile and so we are going to take them to see Gnomeo and Juliet, hope it is as good as hear it is.

Now as for the card this is one of the more detailed cards we are doing for our Stamp a Stack on Feb 26th, we will do it last so that the inexperienced ones will have had some warming up to it, but this way our advanced ones will leave with a layered fun card.

I hope you like it and it can inspire you in some way as I was inspired by someone as well ( just have no idea what her name is...sorry)

So until tomorrow .... YES I do actually have another one for you tomorrow.

Until then
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Two are missing but here are three of them!!!!!

So did you understand the title...not likely I know but let me explain.

I have a group of 4 ladies that are part of a club they come every three months and spend a set amount and then they all draw a month and they are the hostess for the month and reap those rewards.

Well for awhile now I have given them homework, I get a sketch challenge from SCS and then I give them some cardstock and DSP, from there they choose what accessories, stamps, etc that they want to use.  So I took a picture of three of them including mine and for some reason my camera is not loading one of them and one of the ladies was unable to make it so I will get another picture of the one not loading and the lady who was not there, I will get a picture of hers at a later time and I will post them at a later date in the meantime here are the three I do have.

I am always so amaed how we all use some items that are similar but the actual outcome is so different...I LOVE IT, it is such a personal craft and really shows our personalities.

So with no further delay here they are:

                                   This one is mine using the Baby Blossoms from mini

                                       This one is Gloria's (she is a new demo...smile)

                                              This one is Loretta's....so cute!!!!!

So I hope you enjoyed them the one I took a picture of that will not upload uses the Curvy Verses set and she made a really cute flower with the 5 petal punch.   The other two will get on here when I get them back to get pictures.
Now was it not fun to see how everyone took the layout and the paper and changed them all up and made them their own...I LOVE IT!!!!!!   This is such an awesome craft.

Any  of you that think you would like to be part of a club let me know you are interested and we will see what we can do to make that happen.
IF you think you would like to join my team and become a demonstrator and make some extra cash, save on your purchases NOW IS THE TIME...let me tell you why:

It is 15% off right now first of all,  secondly you get an added on package for FREE (totalling 50.00+) AND because it is Sale-A-Bration time you (and I ) get an extra free stamp of your choice form either the mini or the current Idea Book and Catalogue (up to $63.95 value).   SO if that is not enough incentive I do not know what is!!!!!
If you have any further questions or concerns about joining or anything else for that matter feel free to contact me anytime by emial or phone

Hope you have a great rest of the day
Happy Stamping
Crystal

Oh and another sneak peek of Stamp a Stack coming tomorrow

Feb 26th is coming quick......here is another sneak peak!!!!!!

Good Morning!!

It is a very cold morning here in Southern Ontario, however the sun is shining and all is good.

So I am so excited about Gloria and I's first ever Stamp-a-Stack that I thought that I would give you all another sneak peek.  This one has no sentiment and we will have a bunch of sets there for people to add to this card if they want to.  I loved the simplicity of this card and I will be the first to ay that I totally CASED this card from someone on a demonstrator only site.  I am not embarrassed that I cased however I am very embarrassed that I forgot to record who it was so now I have no link for the creator....sorry.

For those of you that are coming to this event please check your emails as there has been a change of location due to the lack of numbers that could make it.  It is no longer at the conference room in the library, if you have not recieved your email for some reason please be sure to contact me for a new location address.

Well I am off I have a a friend that cannot come to the club meeting tomorrow AND the poor thing is the hostess this month too, so she is coming this afternoon to make her cards. So need to freshen up te bathroom and get my dishes done...smile

Thanks so much for stopping by
Happy Stamping
Crystal