CSL

Tired!

2012-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

HI all - I know I've been missing in action over a week. So many have emailed to ask if I'm okay and yes - thank you for your concerns. Just busy, busy moving daughter and her children to a new place, took all my energies. Hope to blog soon - so keep watching. Thank you for all your cares and prayers :) Love, Maureen

Better pictures of gifts - off to a great start!!

2012-01-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a close up of the box of candy and the little fold up tote - how cute is that tag and note the little bauble -

But as I mentioned - it matched our Leadership bag - here are Theresa and Heidi with it. The bottom of the bag unbuttons and is reversible to all of the red pattern and the entire back is reversible to show the entire blue pattern - so you can use the bag many ways. All of this was to go with the theme of "My Way" for Leadership and SU will be using it through out the year. You could have chocolate (my way) and your bag (my way) - so cute!!

~Maureen

Make and Take Gifts

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

So when Heidi, Theresa and I arrived at our make and take session at Leadership - look what awaited us - two wonderful gifts. These were soooo unexpected. The first was this adorable roll up tote - with different sections to put your notebook; pens; make-up; Ipad - or whatever you'd like! It matches the adorable tote we got - which I'll share soon. But sooo fun! The second was the cute little box filled with CHOCOLATE - three different kinds of homemade chocolate - dark with cranberries; light with nuts and white with oreo cookies - all so yummy! Stampin' Up! never ceases to amaze me!

~Maureen

Zamarah is Growing - OLD POST

2012-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning up my blog and found this DRAFT post from 3/12/2010 - don't know why I never posted it - but had to share as it is soooo cute! The words below are what I wrote back then - so left them just as they were -

So Jenee brought the kiddos over last week, and our little Zamarah is starting to fill out. She is such a petite little things, but her cheeks are getting rounder, and she has an extra roll on her legs. (It's the only time in her life when that will be considered cute :)) Here she is just starting to wake.

Roomie Gifts

2012-01-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

So Leadership was amazing. I love San Antonio and the Riverwalk - and it was even better sharing it with 1399 other STAMPERS :) Here are the little gifts I made for my room-mates - Cheryl, Heidi and Theresa - I hope they liked them.

All three notebooks with packets of Kleenex - every Leadership or Convention I cry at least once - so I thought they'd be a great addition to the notebooks; and look how cute they are!!

Here is the notebook partially open - it is magnetic, so the green cardstock covers the magnet. So cute!!

Here is one of the notebooks and kleenex packets up close!

~Maureen

Great Weather....

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to share a few pictures of the amazing weather we have in So Cal. I sometimes hate to post pictures like this - as I have family and so many friends in the cold climate. But this was such an amazing day - that I just had to share.

It was back on Dec. 29, so you don't have to be as jealous, because as I'm typing it's only in the 50's, over cast and a chance of showers. But on the 29th Paul and I were both off work and decided to take a drive up the coast with our Corvette, and have a relaxing day together. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant north of Ventura - the Cliff House - for lunch. And this is what we saw from our table -

View almost directly in front of us and to the right.

View to our right.

View of surfers to our left - we walked a little closer to the edge of the restaurant grounds to get this picture.

View to the left from where we were sitting.

We both had fish and chips and it was delish. But the best part was that it was 12/29 and we were sitting outside enjoying lunch with short sleeves and jeans. We'd brought jackets along -but no need to use them. There are a lot of things that frustrate me with Southern Cal - but the weather is not one of them. Enjoy!! ~Maureen

2012-01-20T20:45:00.001-08:00

Hi all from San Antonio - Just a quick post to let you know what an amazing time we're having here. My downlines Heidi and Theresa are here with me for Stampin' Ups! Leadership conference - and we are having an amazing time. THe hotel internet is not great - and I've struggled with getting on - so not photos, but I have a ton to blog about when I get home. We had a great day today with a ton of great training. Donna Griffith and Pasty Waggoner taught a great class called retaining and engaging your downline. Patsy had some great tips on encouragement and how to help your downline want to stay active. Then we attended a class with Shannon West about our title benefits. She went over all the amazing perks of being a manager and what is to come with the next few promotions. The last class today was with Amy Swartz and Paula Critchlow on including a new generation in your stamping business. It was a great class, and featured a video of Heidi sharing on "Empower" the empowering beneftit of crafting. We have Regionals tomorrow and I am looking forward to a great day of information and stamping! I'll be home soon and back to stamping with lots to share. I am inspired and ready to grow my stamping team and business.

Stamp Camp Cards

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday was my Cards, Cards, Cards Stamp Camp for January and I wanted to share the three birthday cards we made. The first two were designed by Heidi and the third by me. Next month we switch and I do two and she does one - works out great!

Vintage card - background is embossed and tea stained. Seam binding is ruffled by scrunching it over snail adhesive. Butterfly is stamped twice, the center one is colored, cut out and popped up.

Celebrate Card - background is stamped with polka dots. Image is colored with markers. The layers with the elephant on are popped up!

Feminine card - Frame is embossed and torn around edge. Ribbon is added by scrunching between little pieces of tape. Flower is three little flowers punched, scrunched, opened and adhered together with glue dots and a pearl in the middle.

Hope you enjoyed them. My next Cards, Cards, Cards stamp camp is Feb. 21. You can get full details on my upcoming events, but clicking on the Upcoming Stamping Events! link at the top of the blog. Stop back soon. ~Maureen

Ribbon Share

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Occasions Mini Catalog is here and filled with amazing new products to spark your stamping creativity. There are some great new ribbons including a new seam binding; some beautiful pleated satin ribbons and 5 new colors of Bakers twine – and if you’re like me you’ve gotta have them ALL.

So to save you from yourself - I’m offering a “ribbon share” of all these new ribbons. Each person will receive 35 full yards of ribbon (that’s 105 feet) for a fraction of the cost of buying each roll for yourself.

For each ribbon share ordered you will get –
     -3/8” Pleated Satin Ribbon – 2 yards each of Pear Pizzazz, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride & Baja Breeze
     -Bakers Twine – 5 yards each of Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo & Calypso Coral
      -½”Seam Binding – 2 yards of Pool Party


Baja Breeze


Blushing Bride


Pear Pizzazz


Riding Hood Red

Calypso Coral


Island Indigo


Lucky Limeade

Pool Party

Wisteria Wonder


Pool Party Seam Binding

Cost for all 35 yards is $19.00 (that includes the shipping to my home and tax). You’ll be notified when it is ready for you to pick up. Or if you’d like me to mail it to your home – cost is $22.00 and an additional $1.80 if you’d like me to insure it. All orders will be shipped USPS 1st class mail in a bubble envelope. Please be sure to include your exact name and mailing address in your email, I will respond with a confirmation and any further instructions. I've just finished putting together my first two shares - so now it's time for your order.

Just email me if you’d like to participate at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and let me know how many shares you’d like to purchase. Orders will be ready for pick up within 2 weeks of when you email me. You must pay before or at time of pick up. This is a great way to have a bit of it all – or even for demonstrators to be able to show their customers more selection! Looking forward to hearing from you soon. No additional orders for this specific share will be taken after Jan. 31, 2012. ~Maureen

Random Acts of Kindness

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to share a beautiful RAK I received a while back from my downline Lisa. She knew I was going through a tough time and in the midst of it I got this lovely card in the mail. It made my day.

Also, I received this great gift around the same time from my Secret Sister Virginia - it came in the mail when least expected something. How fun is that . These yellow picture holders came in these adorable heart packages. Thank you Virginia.

My very favorite thing about stamping is the friendships you make and the people who will support you and that you can support. There is nothing better than receiving something homemade from a friend. Stamp something today for a friend of yours! ~Maureen

Secret Sister Gift

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

Some of you remember that at our Secret Sister reveal in December some of my ladies could not make it due to some family stuff going on. So Julie brought Lyn's gift to this year's first meeting. Here is what she made her - this amazing coin purse made with SU's Spice Cake fabric. Man I wished I knew how to sew. Isn't this great?!?! She did say it was a lot of work and that she was never going to make another - so I guess Lyn has a one of a kind :)

She also decoupaged this "L" for Lyn, and the elastic around it with the butterfly, flower and ribbon, can be removed and used as a book mark - so clever!

Finally - she made her this adorable lanyard that she can use for her work swipe card. It is very similar to the ones Julie made us last year for our convention gifts. What a great set of gifts - and Lyn was thrilled to get them.

Hope you enjoyed - my downline is so amazingly creative! ~Maureen

Fun Christmas Chain

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

So right before Christmas we had a fun day with all of the grand babies over. We were just giving the girls some time to go out and finish all their last minute shopping. It was just a fun day - as it always is with the kiddos.

Here are Makai and Paisley working on making a pretty Christmas chain to add to Gramma's decorations. I just cut strips of left over wrapping paper (1" x 6") and gave them my 2 sided tape and let them have fun. They did a great job.

Here are Zamarah and Kamili working on their part of the chain. No matter what I tried I could not get Zamarah to look at me for a picture. You can see Kamili was really amused.

The "boys" however wanted nothing to do with making the chain. Prince headed right for the Wii to play Mario Bros. and I thought this was so cute - Zavian picked up the extra remote and sat right next to Prince for over an hour "playing". Actually his remote was not working at all - but he thought it was and had a great time - just being there by Prince. I love it!

They all bring such joy to my life - I am so blessed! ~Maureen

Vintage Ornaments

2012-01-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today - but I wanted to share these adorable ornaments. My brother-in-law brought them back from a trip to Wisconsin over the holidays. They were made by my husband's Aunt Louise a long time ago - maybe the 50's. I think they are adorable - and a wonderful example of a vintage handmade creation. Hope you enjoy seeing them! ~Maureen

Occasions Mini Swap

2012-01-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

Our group did a swap for new sets out of the new Mini Catalog - four of us participated - but one person ended up not making it - so I'll share hers when we get it. Here are the ones that did make it so far -

Heidi's - she used the Hearts Framelits dies and the set P.O. I Love You - She stitched around the larger heart with her sewing machine and I love the way she folded her little banner.

This is Lois' - she used the new Tea Shoppe set from the mini - and the little tag is from the Fresh Vintage set that you can get FREE during Sale-a-bration beginning Jan. 24 - ask me how!

Finally - Mine - I used the new Apothecary Art set from the mini which coordinates perfectly with the Labels collection framelits.

Hope you enjoyed these cards. You can see all the products in this mini by clicking the Occasions mini on my side bar - as well as the Sale-a-bration catalog that starts Jan. 24. If you don't have a current demonstrator and live in the U.S. and would like the catalogs - email me your name and address at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll get them right out to you!! See you soon! ~Maureen

Valentine's Challenge

2012-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

At our downline meetings we do a challenge each month, and the ladies are asked to participate. We vote on one winner and draw for another - and they each get prizes. This month our challenge was make your best Love or Valentine card. We only got two entries - but I love them both. The first was mine - I used the DSP from Sale-A-Bration; and the heart sizzlet and bakers twine from the Occasions mini to make this card. I just might do something similar for my Leadership swaps if I get a chance to get some done this weekend.

The next card was Heidi's lovely entry - how pretty is that - she used the new heart framelits and our new edgelits from the mini catalog to create this beauty. I love how she cut out several hearths overlapping them. This is also the SAB DSP.

The new Mini catalog and the SAB catalog which starts later this month are simply amazing. If you're in the U.S. and don't already have a demonstrator - contact me and I'll get them right out to you - my email is crazystampinglady@gmail.com.

Enjoy!! See you soon! ~Maureen

Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup

2012-01-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

So now and then I share some of my favorite recipes - mostly for the crockpot - as my crockpot and I are best buddies!! Today I'm sharing this yummy and easy bean soup. It's perfect for right after the holidays as it uses up a lot of that leftover ham in the fridge. Here's how my counter looked right before assembly in the crock pot.

Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup

1 bag dried navy beans
1-2 cups chopped ham
8 cups liquid - I used 3 cups of stock from cooking the ham in the slow cooker earlier*; 28 oz of diced tomatoes and juice;14.5 oz. chicken broth and a 1/2 cup water
3 stalks celery chopped
3/4 cup onion chopped
2 cups carrots sliced
Spices to taste - I used 2 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf, remove before serving

Cover beans completely and soak overnight in a bowl of water. The next morning drain the water and place beans in the crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with cheese and some good sourdough or pumpernickel bread. Here it all is in the crockpot ready to cook.

Here it is in my bowl read to eat - we had it with whole wheat sour dough bread and muenster cheese and it was amazing. Soup can be a bit salty, so don't add any extra salt to it. To make less salty use less of the ham stock and more water or low sodium chicken broth. You really don't need any ham stock at all - it would be great with just chicken broth and the canned chopped tomatoes and juice.

This made a bit crock pot full - we had it for two more meals after this - and it just got better as it sat and was re-heated. * I cook my ham (as big as will fit, bone in, in my crockpot) - just put it in there with no water, and let it cook 8 hours on low. It gives it a really rich slow cooked flavor and yields the most wonderful stock for this soup. Enjoy! and if you make it, please leave me a comment on how it was. ~Maureen

Downline Project

2012-01-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I held my monthly downline meeting and Sandy provided our project - here she is smiling as we work.

She demonstrated and had us do the lovely card sitting in front of her here.

It is the emerging image technique - first we stamped the script letters - then embossed the flowers over the letters in clear embossing. Next we sponged Night of Navy ink over the entire image and the script and flowers emerged beautifully. Then just buff the flowers to get off any traced of ink.

Here is a close-up of the detail. It was a beautiful project for us to make - thank you Sandy!! Also thank you to Kathy S for the yummy snacks!!
Thanks for stopping by - Maureen

Christmas Dinner

2012-01-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day we had dinner at Heidi's - she and Jenee made all of the wonderful food - everything was just perfect. Here is the beautiful table setting that greeted us.

And the lovely place settings -

A close-up of my place setting - isn't that wonderful!

Besides all the other goodies this candy bar awaited us :)

After - we opened gifts and it was PURE chaos - but wonderful, wonderful chaos. Here are just a few pictures that represent the fun and the blessings.

Till next time ~Maureen

New Occasions Mini is HERE!!

2012-01-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Thewait is OVER! The Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog is live andcustomers can place their orders here - Online Shopping Link

Or you can email me your order at crazystampinglady@gmail.com

NEED A CATALOG? If you prefer a printed copy of the Occasions Mini and/or the upcoming Sale-A-Bration Catalog; and don't already have a relationship with anotherdemonstrator? Email me your name andaddress (U.S. only) at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll send it right out to you!

~Maureen

Gift from Heidi

2012-01-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

For years, and I mean years, I have been saving corks from the wine Paul and I have. Some of our nicest vacations are wine-tasting up the coast of California - so the corks just seemed special. But Paul hated having bags of them lying around. So Heidi took a bunch of them to see what she could do with them - and lookie what she made me for Christmas with them. It's our last initial in corks, mounted on a huge beautiful frame and backing.

Here is a side view so you can see the relief on it a bit more. It is beautiful, and a wonderful way for us to display those corks. We'll hang it in our kitchen/family room area. Love it!! Gonna see what else we can do with corks.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:46:00.000-08:00

Can it be? 2012? Time really does fly!

May this coming year be your best ever

Full of blessings and cheer

Family and friends

Strength and wisdom

and abundant love.

Stay safe out there tonight -

so we can spend 2012 together!

Thanks for stopping by my blog -

see you in the New Year with more creativity!!

~Maureen

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T09:00:00.001-08:00

Each Christmas Eve we get together as a family and have appetizers and desserts; read the Christmas Story; open stocking stuffers and get the little ones into their brand new pajamas. This year our friends Elmo and Septembra and daughter Naomi joined us. Here are a few pictures of our wonderful night! Enjoy!

Lovely mantel with candles glowing - makes me feel all warm inside.

Makai and Heidi cuddling - note Heidi's cute penguin tattoo :)

Kamili striking her model pose for the camera.

I love this picture of my three oldest grand-daughters Makai, Paisley and Kamili showing off their new PJs and having a good time together.

Aaron and Elmo checking their lottery scratchers to see if they won anything. Needless to say no one left very rich.

Some of the goodies being put out just before everyone got here.

Septembra and Jenee

Jenee getting some loving from Naomi.

Zamarah posing - looks like Heidi's hat was making the rounds.

Zavian and Prince - the boys just hanging out.

Zavian and Zamara showing off their new jammies and their new cookie monsters!

Gifts for my neighbors and card display!

2011-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

So we have some of the greatest neighbors. They've really had our backs through some difficult times recently and I wanted to take them over a little Christmas thank you! So I made homemade peppermint brownies. Here is a close up of them - they were gooey, and chocolatey and pepperminty :) Hope they liked them.

Here they are getting dolled up for delivery! The whole kitchen smells like peppermint!

I also wanted to share with you how I displayed my Christmas cards this year. I got the idea off of Pinterest. You just tie a ribbon around a cabinet door and use clothespins to hang you cards. I usually get a lot of cards - so i used my pantry door, and instead of going all around the door, I just hung three lengths of ribbon. This picture was over a week ago - now all three ribbons are full and cards are also hung elsewhere.

Here is a close-up of the cards.

Here's a close-up of the clothespins. I decorated them with strips of designer series papers from SU, and kept them in this little cup on my counter, so they were handy as cards came in. I think this worked out great and will do it again next year!!

Thank you to everyone who sent us cards - it is so wonderful hearing from you all. I will be sharing some of they hand-made ones with you soon. Thanks for stopping by. ~Maureen

Downline Level 1 Thank you!

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Each year I try and give a little gift to those in my first downline for the holidays. I wasn't able to complete anything by the time of my Holiday Party - so I had to send them after. So these cute little easel card calendars went out to them last week. You know how projects sometimes seem like they're going to be easy, but then........well that was this project. I did 15 of them in three different color schemes - and tried to match the colors to the ladies likes - so I hope I did well.

Where it got a little crazy was downloading, sizing, printing and cutting the calendars - it took soooo long. Plus there was a little coffee spill mishap that ruined the first set I made, so I had to start over. Then cutting out 45 of those flowers was no small task either - but I think they turned out cute.

Front View

Side view.

All 15 ready to go! They fit perfectly in our SU square envelopes and only took two stamps to mail.

Here is one folded flat and ready to slip into the envelope.

Hope my gals enjoyed getting them - I appreciate them so much - and truly value their friendship. Next year these might be co-worker gifts. ~Maureen

Co-worker gifts

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I just wanted to share a couple of the little gifts I gave to co-workers this year. I can't even take much credit for these - as they were made for craft fair my daughter Heidi was doing and it got cancelled so I took advantage of that and purchased these adorable items - the first is nugget tins. I just love these. There is something about the color coordinated wrapped nuggets that just shout eat me!! Love them.

Tins of nuggets just waiting to be eaten!

Our office also has many student workers - so I gave them each a little gift card and these adorable candy filled test tubes. Hope they liked them. Now we're all off till Jan. 3 - woo hoo!!

Test tubes filled with Holiday Candy - yum!

Test tube close up.

Stop back soon. ~Maureen

Jesus is the Reason!

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas - the glitz, the glitter, the songs, the sounds, the presents and the time with family. But most of all I love the true meaning of Christmas -

Jesus is the Reason - I hope you will all remember that today as you celebrate this wondrous holiday with family and friends. For without Him in your Heart - all is for naught. May you have a wondrous and blessed Christmas with those you love the most!!

Club Gifts

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to send my club members something for Christmas - so I came up with these cute little calendars. They were already great colors and so all I did was add a couple accents.

Here is a close up of how I embellished them. Hope they like them!! I even kept one for myself :)

Extended Downline Cards

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

My downline has really grown this year and I currently have 37 in my downline levels 2 - 5. I wanted to send them all a Christmas card with some updates, so here is what I came up with. Earlier this year we had made Christmas cards at a stamp camp using punched out snowflakes. I LOVE the negative images they left when we punched them out - so I saved the strips thinking I'd do something with them.

So I did - I cut them apart into squares and layered them over several different DSPs added a sentiment and voila! Don't they look beautiful?!

Here is a close up of a couple of them. I just love this clean and simple layout - which is what I needed because I was doing so many. Hope you like them too!

Holiday Traditions!

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love the Christmas tree. Each year I decorate it with beautiful ornaments that have wonderful and special meanings. Some that remind me of the true meaning of Christmas; some that family has given to me; some that are just simply lovely - but all of them together give me a wonderful, warm feeling.

One of my absolutely favorite things to do is to grab a cup of coffee, turn out all the lights except those on the tree and snuggle under a fleece blanket on the couch - just enjoying the tree's beauty. Here it is with the lights out.

One other tradition we have is a family picture each year - so I thought I'd share ours from this year -


Back row: Aaron, Paul, Jenee Middle row: Heidi, Me holding Zamarah, Prince, Paisley Front row: Kamili, Zavian and Makai. Aren't they all wonderful!

Play-doh fun with my kiddos!

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Some fun family time! About a week ago we had the grandkids over - the Kings on Saturday and the Jones on Sunday and I wanted to do something fun with them. So I decided we make home made playdoh. It is so easy to make and I love the feel of it when it is just off the stove and starting to cool but still warm. So much nicer than the store bought stuff. Here's recipe -

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 pkg of Koolaid

Instructions - In a medium saucepan mix together dry ingredients. Next mix in the water, oil, and orange extract and stir until a thick batter is formed. Cook the mixture over low/medium heat until a thick dough forms stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. It only takes a couple minutes and dough will pull away from sides of pan, then remove from heat. Turn out onto table (be aware it will be pretty warm - but cools down pretty quickly) and knead until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of dough.

Makai and Kamili watching me cook it with anticipation.

Kamili creating!

Makai all smiles!

And Zavian having a ball!

The next day we made another batch.

Here's Paisley getting really intricate.

Prince loving the rolling pin.

After a bit Prince opted for playing Mario Brothers on the Wii with Papa.


And finally Zamarah. Actually I just took this picture a day or two ago. When we made play-doh she feel asleep and I forgot to get her picture, but I couldn't leave her out :)

Secret Sister - Part 8

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hi All - Gonna share another Secret Sister gift today. This one came in a little late from Maria as she was ill the day of our party - but it was worth the WAIT! Her gift was for Lisa - and Lisa opened it this week so I can share it now. First is the adorable card she made her -

Next is this amazing advent centerpiece - how cute is that!!! What fun to fill each little drawer with a treat!

Here's a close-up of Santa's face - that is all CARDSTOCK - seriously - isn't it adorable.

And here's a close-up of the drawers - what a cute gift!

Bye for now! -Maureen

Secret Sister Gifts - Part 7

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

So today I want to share what I gave my Secret Sister - first here is the package all wrapped up and ready to go.

A close up of the tag -

But the real trick was that my Secret Sister was my daughter Heidi. All year long I had to try and keep it a secret and it was tough. She says she knew from the style - but I'm not really sure she did :)

Here Heidi is with her gift from Santa Mom!

A close up of the magnet board.

A close up a tool Lazy Susan for her scissors, stylus', bone folders and more! I use one of these and LOVE it! Hope she likes it too!

All of the gifts I gave Heidi this year coordinated - you can see the other items here -
http://crazystampinglady.blogspot.com/2011/06/secret-sister-june-2011-part-ii.html
and here -
http://crazystampinglady.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-secret-sister-gifts-part-ii.html

Thanks for stopping by - I have another great gift item to show you tomorrow - so stop back ~Maureen

Secret Sister Gifts - Part 6

2011-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

A couple more Secret Sister gifts to share with you today. The first was from Theresa to Julie. Unfortunately Julie could not be with us - but I am sure when she got her gift -she loved it. It was this beautiful cake stand, mix and look at that cute cupcake kit!

Theresa with her gift for Julie.

Next I have the gift that WOWED us all for the day. This beautiful Christmas tree that Heidi made for Sandy. It is made out of squares of SU's newsprint DSP. She modeled it after a tree she had seen at Anthropology. It was even more amazing in person.

Sandy with her Christmas tree.

She also made Sandy this giant Christmas Cracker using one of our Decor Elements tubes as the base. I think it was filled with chocolates. Very, very adorable!

Sandy and Theresa.

But we're not done yet - be sure to stop back tomorrow for more ideas!! -Maureen

Secret Sister Gifts - Part 5

2011-12-16T16:20:00.001-08:00

More gifts - more gifts - how great is this - first today I want to share the gifts that Karen gave to her Secret Sis Virginia -

Adorable little container for brushes, markers, stamping tools!

Karen couldn't join us due to a family commitment, but she faithfully dropped off her gift for Virginia ahead of time -

Beautiful Christmas angel ornament.

Virginia looks happy with her goodies -

And Virginia with her LOVELY snowflake coaster set!

Next I want to share Bobbies great gift from Sandy -

Beautiful box and hand crocheted doily.

Here is a close up of some of the detail of both the flowers and the doily. It is amazing. We're not done yet - stop back tomorrow!

Close up of detail.

Secret Sister Gifts - Part 4

2011-12-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here we go with some more great gifts from our Secret Sister Exchange - first I want to share my gift from Virginia - she downloaded one of my favorite pictures from facebook. It's a picture of me and my six grandkids the day we made gingerbread houses. Then she mounted it on this decorated platform and gave it to me with a wooden easel to display it on.

Me and my gift!

Making Gingerbread houses with the kiddos is one of my favorite days each year - and this is a great way to display that memory for me every day. Thanks Virginia!!

Close-up of me and my true loves :)

Next I want to share this package that arrived for Maria from Bobbie. Here is the outside packaging - adorable!

Cute "Maria" pennant!

Unfortunately Maria was under the weather the day of our party and didn't make it- but I know she loved this gift when it got to her. Here is what was inside - this amazing bulletin board for Maria's craft area.

"CREATE" bulletin board. Note the cute button push pins.

These gifts were great - but we're not done yet - check back soon for some MORE Secret Sister gifts! -Maureen

Clearance Rack Blitz

2011-12-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

From December 15, 2011, through January 5, 2012, nearly 200 products are being added to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store--with some discounted up to 80 percent! Check it out today and take advantage of these huge savings. Visit the Online Store to take part in these savings!!

Please note: Within the Online Store, in the Clearance Rack Blitz category, there will be some identical punches that have two different item numbers; this is because we are using inventory from both our American and our European warehouses. We will indicate which punches this affects in the product description.

During this time period you can order online - but if you'd like to get FREE shipping by picking your orders up at my home (that's a 10% savings in addition to the great prices); just email me your order at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll place the order; have it delivered here; charge you NO shipping and you can pick it up when it's here. This is ONLY if you email me with your order.

Quantities are limited - so don't wait!!! -Maureen

Secret Sister Exchange - Part 3

2011-12-14T18:27:00.001-08:00

So here we go with a few more great Secret Sister gifts. First is Kathy with her gift from Lois - a crocheted washcloth, decorated Starbucks mug, and yummy Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate!

Lois and Kathy with Kathy's goodies.

Close up of Kathy's yummy gift.

Next I want to share a great tip that Kathy shared with the group. You can make a medallion in the lid of our embellishment cases (you know the ones for brads, buttons, etc.). You take your 1" strip of DSP fold it back and forth to make the medallion and then punch out a circle of CS or DSP for each side of medallion. Put it in the lid of the case in this order - circle, adhesive, medallion, adhesive, circle. It all fits in there perfectly and holds it together making it easier to handle as you put it together, and as your adhesive sets. I've got to try this.

Here's the medallion in the case lid that Kathy showed us.

Finally for today, here is Lois with her exchange gift from Diane - a telescoping snowman card; decorated tin; and cute little Christmas ornament.


Lois with her goodies


Close up of her card, tin and sparkly ornament.

Hope you enjoyed these gifts - check back soon as there are still more to come!! -Maureen

Secret Sister Gifts - Part II

2011-12-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

Next I want to share the adorable gifts that Elaine got made by Annette - it was a set of a tea holder; a notebook and pencil; and a holiday planner.

Inside of the Holiday Planner!

All three - the tea holder; notebook and planner

Elaine opening her present.

Karen got this gift from her Secret Sister Lisa. First this great Christmas card.

All of the gems really made this card sparkle

And a decorated card box - filled with stamped cards!

Such fun - stop by tomorrow for some more great gifts!

Secret Sister Gifts - Part I

2011-12-09T22:11:00.001-08:00

Long week - so glad it is Friday (actually almost Saturday :) I'm finally getting around to sharing our Secret Sister gifts from last week's downline party. I have to apologize up front for the blurriness of this first picture. These cards were clean, simple and LOVELY. Wish I were a better photographer.

Annette's Gift from Kathy B.

Cards, A lovely calendar and a smile from Annette!

Next was this great Fall Family picture frame that Diane received!

Diane with her frame and beautiful card from Elaine.

A closer look at the card!

Stop by tomorrow for more SSS gifts from our exchange. We had a great time - and we have such a talented group of stampers.

Downline Christmas Party

2011-12-04T15:23:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was our annual Crazy Stamping Lady Christmas Party and as usual we had a great time. Several of our regulars couldn't make it due to a family death; family illnesses and illness of one of the ladies - so our group was a little small - but those of us who were there made the best of it. So for today I'm going to share a few pictures of all the goodies we had to eat - everyone brought something, and the food was WONDERFUL!!

Looks Yummy Huh!

More goodies!

Virginia, Theresa, Lois and Annette working on their project.

Kathy and Theresa.

Kathy, Heidi and Bobbie (Kathy in the background)

Elaine, Bobbie, Sandy, Kathy and Diane working away!

Virginia and Heidi getting the perfect embellishments!

And here is our final project - a rolled paper Christmas tree - this was mine, but each lady had an assortment of papers to roll and could add whatever embellishments they wanted. If they send me pictures - I'll post their final projects! The paper sizes are all 1 1/2" top to bottom rolled around a pencil and taped closed - the lengths were 4 1/2", 4", 3 1/2", 3", 2 1/2", 2", 1 1/2", 1" and 3/4" from bottom to top; but you could adjust for any size. I think they turned out so cute - we put them on a paint can lid as the frame. Let me know what you think!

I'll be adding more pictures of some of the great Secret Sister gifts we exchanged through out the week so be sure to check back! Thanks for stopping by. ~Maureen

Annual Fall Fun

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Decorating graham cracker gingerbread houses has become a wonderful annual event with my grandkids. This year was no different. Here is the village ready for the arrival of the decorators. Then pictures of all the little ones and their creations.

Village of Graham Cracker houses.

Kamili


Makai


Prince


Paisley


Zamarah


Zavian

Aren't they cute - they all had such fun and loved their creations. Zamarah and Zavian did have a bit of a struggle waiting to finish decorating theirs. As you can see below - they both had a nibble way before being done :)

Yum

And more Yum!

Hope this is a memory they will always cherish - I know I will!! Thanks for stopping by ~Maureen

Thanksgiving table

2011-12-01T11:01:00.001-08:00

So we had an awesome Thanksgiving with wonderful family and friends, a beautiful table, yummy food and more. Of course - I forgot to take any pictures till after we were done eating. I don't know how that happened. But I did take a couple pics after - here are the paper pumpkins I had scattered on table.

Here is a top view of the pumpkins

And a side view

I also got a picture of a couple of the placecards/treats that I put out. Most were eaten by the time I took this picture, but a couple were left.

These served a double function in that they were a little treat for our guests, and also marked the place where each person would sit.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are in the swing of the 'getting ready for' Christmas season :)

Congratulations Sandy!!

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last month we celebrated Sandy's 5 year Stampin' Up! anniversary - I am so grateful to have her as a part of my Crazy Stamping Lady team. She brings so much to our group.

Me and Sandy with her new 5 year bracelet and charm.

The back of her bracelet charm.

Front of her bracelet charm.

Congratulations again Sandy - here's to another five and many more after that! ~Maureen

Downline Project

2011-11-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

At our last downline meeting Nov. 5 we made a cute little wine bottle tag for gift giving. Possibly a hostess gift for the Thanksgiving holiday. You could also use it to hang on your bottles for a tasting with information on the bouquet, undertones, etc. of the wine(s) you are serving.

I started by using the Big Shot to die cut a cute little tag from the Two Tags die. Then to punch the hole on it and have it centered, we used a mask punched out of a post it note to stick on and center and help punch the circle out of the middle. Then scored right below the hole, to allow for hanging.

Punching out of post-it note.

Place post-it mask in middle of the top of the tag.

Voila - a hole punched out perfectly in the center of the tag top.

Next we colored our Fall leaves by stamping and adding color with sponges and then cutting them out. Once they were done and added to the tag it was ready to put on the bottle for presentation.

Stamping and sponging leaves.

Leaves after they are cut out.

And then we had a doorprize drawing for the bottle of Sweet Red Table wine and the tag topper. Karen was our lucky winner.

Hope you enjoyed today's project. If you ever make a project using my blog as inspiration, please send me a picture - I'll be sure to post and link back to your blog. Thanks for stopping by. ~Maureen

Family Halloween!

2011-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Halloween over at Heidi's. Here are the Jones kiddos all dressed up

Monster Doll Paisley, Luigi as Prince and our little Monkey with her blankie Zamarah.

and the King Kids -

Monster Dolls Kamili and Makai - and Mr. Police Officer (look at those muscles LOL) Zavian.

Frankenstein Pops Heidi made for the kiddos.

Spooky eyeballs were one of the munchies we had.

Heidi had us all over to their home and we had good food (see above) and these are just a few of their decorations - The skulls were foggers and when we turned them on the entire front of the house got extra spooky. In fact when we opened the door the house filled with fog which was really cool.

Playing Catch Up!!

2011-11-26T15:53:00.001-08:00

So much to catch up on - I hate it when I don't blog, because I use this as a bit of a journal of my life. I love going back and looking at the great memories we've made.

Picnic lunch at the park!

Papa and Prince climbing rocks.

Papa and Prince climbing trees.

Prince at the railroad museum.

So you can see this is from way back in October. It was my day with Prince and we were lucky enough to have Papa off work to join us. The day started with breakfast from McDonald's, then we picked up Papa at home and spent some time there playing and drawing. Then off to the park for a picnic lunch and some rock climbing. Finally Prince got to see the local railroad museum. He LOVES trains. He even got to go in the back and get sneak peek of what goes on behind the scenes. It was a great day with one of our favorite little guys...Prince!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T06:44:00.001-08:00

Hi all - I have really been missing in action (2 1/2 weeks since I posted - yikes!) Lots has been going on with family - some not so great - so any prayers would be appreciated. But I wanted to wish all of you an amazing Thanksgiving - hope you get to spend it with those you love. There is soooo much to be thankful for even in difficult times. Among my blessings I count all of you! I hope to be back blogging more regularly again - so check back soon!! Love, Maureen

Halloween Goodies

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some fun Halloween goodies with you today! Here are some Halloween favors I made to give out at work -

Some prizes wrapped up for our work Halloween potluck!

Here are the Halloween s'more kits I made for my student workers.

I truly hate the dark side of Halloween and some of the horrible stuff associated. But I LOVE the color and cute things that go with Halloween. So wanted to share some of the fun I had :) Hope you liked!

FREE Digital Downloads!!

2011-11-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

MY DIGITAL STUDIO EVENT & FREE DOWNLOADS

Today and Tomorrow!

Learn more about digital scrapbooking and card making and get your free downloads

(after completing a quick survey) at http://www.mydigitalstudio.net/

To learn more about My Digital Studio - click here

To shop online 24/7 - click here

Have a wonderful weekend!
~Maureen

Halloween - Part I

2011-11-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween - Part I - sounds like the beginning of a series of scary movies - huh!! Well - if you don't want to be scared turn back - turn back while you can!! Too late - - this scary creature is ME!! Took me a while to do the makeup. On Monday when I wore this to work I FREAKED my students out. I don't think anyone recognized me - which I think is good. Glad to know I don't look like this every day :)

We went to a Halloween party at our neighbor's too - I was the monster above; and Paul was a Lumberjack and yes that is a real ax. It scared me that he carried it - but he taped the edges up and was careful to not let it out of his sight. Next year - no weapons.

Twice Blessed!

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

So this past few months I have been doublely (not sure of that spelling:) blessed, with a brand new great neice Maggie, born to my neice Kelly and her husband Steve; and a brand new great nephew Mack born to my nephew Steve and his wife Robyn. I've tried to crochet a baby blanket for each new baby - although depending on the stage of my life at the time I might have missed one or two :( Anyway I wanted to share these two with you. My grandkids love their giant granny square blankets and sleep with them all the time, so I hope Maggie and Mack like them just as much! What blessings these little ones are.

Baby Maggie's gift

Baby Mack's gift

2011-10-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my friend and co-worker Emilie's birthday, so I made her this cute notebook she can carry in her purse

The outside is bright and cheery - just like her. She's so much fun to be around.

Inside it has a notepad, a post-it note pad and a little coordinating pen. I hope she liked it. I carry one of these in my purse all the time and love it, as the paper never gets all crunched up :) Next week we're taking her out to lunch and the celebration will continue.

Christmas Card Stamp Camp

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had our monthly Christmas Card Stamp Camp - each person attending got to make five each of two designs of Christmas cards. Here is the first one designed by Heidi - it is a popped up layer with a punched out snowflake - you can see the printed paper underneath. Just lovely. The second card was designed by me - I designed it to mimic the idea of a package with a bow on top. The oval and the house layers are popped up on dimensionals. I really like how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by.

Cards Stamp Camp

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our monthly Cards camp where everyone makes two cards each of three decisions. This month we did Halloween - with this adorable candy corn card using the SU pennant punch. Next we did a Thanksgiving center fold card - and here's the inside of it. The third card was our Christmas card - how pretty is that. Heidi had us take off the little dots with a blender pen and then add in some cherry cobbler to put some color on the tree.
These were so much fun - next month on the 15th we're going to do Sympathy, Baby and Birthday - hope you can come join us!!

Another Building day

2011-10-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the grandkids to a local hardware store for another building session. The kids each got to make a Monster truck - except for the two little ones. This is such a great thing to do with the kids and they really enjoy it. Then everyone came to our house for lunch. Here they are posing afterward with their creations. And here are a couple of their creations close-up. Can't wait till next time!

Julie's Secret Sister Gift

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week someone (shhhh it's a secret :) dropped off this great card for Julie! I still miss those bats :) But to go with that great card was this wonderful frame - I love it!! It is so much fun seeing all the great stuff that our secret sister's give and get. Our big reveal will be at our Holiday Party December 3rd!!

More clouds

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I shared my love for clouds with you. We had another great day of clouds on 10/6 when a storm passed through just north of us. This second picture shows an amazing puff of clouds - the setting sun cast a slight pinkish glow on it - it reminded me of a big puff of cotton candy and there is a hint of a rainbow at the bottom of this picture. Here is a better picture of the rainbow - right over my house. It was so beautiful - such a wonderful reminder of God's promises to us. Enjoy!

Stampers Club Projects

2011-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our card this month used the "Masking" technique. We stamped the front jack-o-lantern, masked it, and added the Cajun pumpkin behind it. Then popped up the hat and the "spooky" on dimensionals to make this adorable card.
Inside we added a little Halloween greeting-
Our second project was this cute little treat bag filled with "Candy Corn" M&M's - yummy - to the mummy for it's tummy :) Okay - I'm not as funny as I think, or so my hubby tells me. The topper uses our "Peek-a-boo" die with a little mummy popped up on it - inside "eeek!" These are so quick to make up, and so much fun to give out!

Stampers Club

2011-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was our Stamp Club at Diane's and she made this adorable veggie skeleton for one of her treats!! How cute is that! Our technique this month is Masking - here is the card they did to put into their technique binders.Stop back tomorrow to see the projects we made!

Go Ahead - Be A Big Shot!

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

OR at least own one !!If you've been looking for an opportunity to do what you love, while getting a 20 discount on your favorite products, now is the perfect time! During October, you'll get a FREE Big Shot when you join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator (or $100 in other Stampin' Up! merchandise.)

Use the Big Shot die-cutting machine and Stampin' Up!'s exclusive dies to create uniquely beautiful projects in a flash. If you sign up in my downline, I'll be offering a FREE Big Shot class for you to attend and learn all about this terrific tool.

In addition, the new-demonstrator Starter Kit–a steal at just $175–contains over $345 worth of stamp sets, card stock, ink, accessories, and business supplies-everything you need to start your new business.

There are so many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, including
* A 20 percent product discount!
* A free monthly issue of Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator-only magazine, Stampin' Success!
* Sneak peeks at brand-new products!
* Early ordering of new catalog products.
* Invitations to exclusive Stampin' Up! events!
* Regular get-togethers to stamp!
* Free access to an online community of 30,000+ crafters/stampers and creative artists, as well as 160,000+ project samples!
* Plus, access to an exclusive video and training for your new Big Shot!
* You will remain active as a demonstrator with Stampin' Up! and the Crazy Stampin' Ladies till the end of March 2012 even if you buy nothing else! How great is that!

Don't miss this BIG deal! Go to my Stampin' Up! website at www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net - click on "Join the Fun" and then "Join Now" and you can take advantage of this great opportunity and get your FREE Big Shot!

IMPORTANT: New recruits who use the online IDA will be given access to the Promotional Product Bonus order type in the online Stampin' Up! ordering system, approximately one hour after they complete their online application. (You will be provided a link to OEX for this redemption via e-mail). In this order type, you will either enter the item number for the Big Shot (item 113439) or the item numbers for up to $100 in Stampin' Up! products. Products can be chosen from any current catalog and shipping is free! You should ensure that your free total comes as close as possible to $100 without going over since the Promotional Product Bonus order type will not allow items beyond $100 to be added to the order.

I'd love to have YOU be a part of my TEAM of Crazy Stamping Ladies - Join NOW!

Halloween Stamp Camp - Part III

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is final project we made at our stamp camp - a cute little 3x3" gift card with a spooky skeleton with crystal eyes. Also made with the "Pick Your Poison" DSP and stickers. Here's the inside - We had a great time getting ready for Halloween. Plus everyone who attended got to leave with the remaining stickers from the Quick Accents kit and the remaining DSP from the half of package they received - so they can decorate a ton more of matching projects at home. How fun!!

Halloween Stamp Camp - Part II

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our next project was this great Bird on a treat Box. The inspiration was from Page 10 of the current Holiday Mini (we also saw it at Convention in July). We used the Pick Your Poison DSP and stickers again, and Heidi put her own creative twist on it all and came up with this - Other side - and inside of box - Finally a close up of the trims she used to decorate the bird. The hat and neck frill with gems; and cute little skull necklace :)
Check out Heidi's blog by clicking on the the Stampin' King Icon on my sidebar to enjoy more of her creations!

Halloween Stamp Camp - Part I

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had out Halloween Stamp Camp last weekend. This is always one of my favorite Stamp Camps of the year - I love the fun of Halloween. We did a couple cute projects which I'll be sharing with you over the next few days. This is the first one - we used a wood coffin that I purchased and painted the sides black one. It's decorated with the "Pick Your Poison" DSP and stickers and we added a spooky spider with a black pearl body to the outside. Then we decorated the inside of the coffin with additional DSP. But what good is an empty coffin :) Next we took a couple Baby Ruth mini candy bars and taped them together, wrapped them with strips of DSP, added a couple eyes and voila! The perfect inhabitant for our coffins - a cute little Mummy!!
Check back tomorrow for more of what we did at this Stamp Camp!

Gramma Day with Paisley

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week was my latest Gramma Day with Paisley - It was a lovely day. We picked up breakfast at McDonald's, and then Paisley came to my house to decorate the house for Halloween. Here are a few of the decorations we put out - These pumpkins are decorated with SU decor elements - and two pictures below in the frame and shadow box were stamped - I also asked Paisley to draw me a picture - anything at all she wanted to draw. It could be of what makes her happy or sad; what she's been doing lately; anything at all and this is what she drew. It's a picture of her in school day dreaming about Gramma :) We had a talk about probably listening to the teacher rather than day-dreaming (LOL) but I loved the picture. I am hoping to do this with all the kids on their Gramma days, and putting together a scrapbook of our days together. After decorating - we went to lunch at Red Robin and shared a basket of ribs and a Mint Chocolate shake - Yum! Then we went to the movie "Zookeeper" which was really cute and then headed home. It was a delightful day with one of my favorite little girls! Next month - my day with Prince!

Karen's Secret Sister gift -

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Karen's Secret Sister dropped off a wonderful gift for her before our meeting last week. Here is the card to Karen. But that was just the beginning :) All the rest of this was also in the gift bag for her - this adorable Fall wall hanging. These great cards - and we've save the best for last - this beautiful basket of fall flowers - these are all made with our daisy die and Stampin' Up! buttons. There are also a few fall colored roses tucked in there. How great is that!

Downline Challenge card -

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

At our last meeting our downline challenge was to make your best project using any of our in-colors. We only had one entry, but it was great! Heidi created this adorable birthday card - LOVE IT! So she was our winner and got to pick out of the prize box. Here's the inside - just as cute as the outside. Who wouldn't love to get this :)

Karen's Project for Downline -

2011-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week at our downline meeting Karen had us make this great Halloween card. We used the imbedded embossing technique to make this lovely quilted image. I have done imbedded embossing before - but never the quilted images and I loved it. My mother-in-law has made beautiful quilts in her life - so my goal is to make her a framed image now of several quilted patterns. Our meeting was small, so it was a little less organized and lots of fun chatting going on, so I forgot to get a picture of Karen demonstrating, as I usually do. So I found a photo of her in my archives. She is the demo on the right below. Thanks Karen for providing a great project for us all.

Club Technique and Card

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

This month at club our technique was Reverse Masking. Here is the 6x6" technique card for our binder. I love this technique, it is just so fun to do the sponging and stamping and pick up the post-it mask and voila! We made this beautiful card using the same technique. I have seen several similar cards - but just love the richness that the black and Cajun Craze bring to this. We even stamped the owls on the inside of the card - sorry for the blur -but you get the idea.Check back next month to see our next technique!

Spooky Treats from our Downline Meeting

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

At our last downline meeting we all made this cute and spooky treat holder. It uses the long cello treat bags we're selling in the mini, these are filled with Reese's pieces - Yum. We ran the cardstock through our Peekaboo Frames die to get the topper, and used the Halloween "Spooky Bingo Bits" to decorate. Here's a close up of the topper - note the googily eyes - gotta love those - And a close up of the inside once you open the peekaboo flap - these are such a fun little gift to give to kids and even co-workers. Remember you can purchase online through my website at www.crazystampinglady.blogspot.com and have it shipped directly to your home. ENJOY!

Clouds over Simi Valley

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I was on my way to a workshop and when I parked and got out of the car, I was amazed by the clouds in the sky. I love clouds! They are simply sooooo beautiful. When we were in the midwest the clouds were amazing, but so often out here in California - they seem to look the same day after day (when we even have clouds.) But these were just so lovely to me, that I had to snap a couple pictures and share them. Hope you think they are as lovely as I did.Enjoy the majesty around you today and remember the God who gave it all to us. For this is the day that the Lord has made - rejoice and be glad in in!

September CLUB Hostess gift

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

This month Tamara hosted my Simi Valley Stamping Club and I wanted to share her Hostess Gift with you. Her favorite color is purple, so our Concord Crush was my first choice for making her gift. It is a notebook set like I've shared before last month and again here. Here is the outside - and here is the inside complete with post-its, a pocket for coupons, etc., and notepad. I love these and hope Tamara loves hers. Thanks for a great workshop!

Watercolor Class - Part III

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

The final project we made at the Watercolor class was this little gift bag. Heidi had us make it using the Stampin' Up! watercolor crayons, and we used them direct to stamp - spritz stamp with water, color with crayons directly onto stamp, spritz with water again and stamp on your cardstock. Soft and Lovely!!! Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the things you can create with different watercoloring techniques. See you soon!

Water Color Class - Part II

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to share two more of the projects we made at the recent Watercolor Class - the first was this adorable little treat box - we used Stampin' Ups! watercolor paper, reinkers and Stampin' Ups! aqua painters to create a beautiful fall landscape - Next we used watercolor pencils and blender pens to make this adorable little birthday card for baby! Stop back tomorrow when I'll share the final project we made.

Watercolor Class - Part I

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week Heidi hosted a Watercolor class at her house, and I went over as a helper. But everyone did so great they didn't need much help, so I had time to do all the projects also. They are Heidi's designs and you can check her blog over the next week at www.stampinking.blogspot.com to see more views of these projects. The first one we made was this cute little Dino card - we watercolored him using blender pads and ink directly from the reinkers - she showed how to layer your colors up to get these great results. Next we used reinkers again, but this time we watercolored Stampin' Ups! paper flowers, layered them and added them to the top of a little tin container that can be filled with candy - so cute. You can't see it much in this picture, but by using a couple colors on each petal we got a bit of a tie dyed look. Check back tomorrow to see the other projects we made.

Lisa's Secret Sister Gift

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

So when we got back from vacation last week this lovely gift was on my front porch waiting for me. It was for Lisa from her secret sister. I didn't want to post anything until I had delivered it to Lisa - which I did this week. The outside looked like this - so great - and see those Halloween colored jingle bells! It's hard to tell but this is the top of a black wooden box that the top slides over on.
And when we slid the top over - this is what we found inside - all kinds of Halloween cards - how cute are those! And the inside of the box is finished off with flocked DSP! And finally here is the card that was on top wishing Lisa a wonderful Halloween - so cute!

Great Play Day

2011-09-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

So last weekend Paul and I joined the crew at a local hardware store to make fire trucks. It's a kids event they put on every couple weeks and it was great. Here are the guys working together on their project. Heidi and Kamili worked on one while Paisley helped Makai. You can see Jenee in the background wrangling the little ones :) Here's another picture of the crew hard at work - Zamarah and Zavian were still too little to join in the fun - so they entertained each other. Afterward we headed off to lunch (at a noisy restaurant :) - when you have this crew you need to be sure the restaurant is as loud as they are. We had a wonderful time together. Papa and I were missing them after being gone on vacation a couple weeks, so this was a great way to catch up.

September Christmas Card Stamp Camp

2011-09-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had our monthly Christmas Card Stamp Camp - for those who have come every month, they have 100 cards now - woo hoo!! The first card we made this month was this adorable snowman card using "Snow Much Fun" this was absolutely my favorite new Christmas set and I had to get it right away. I LOVE SNOWMEN! We ran the front layer through the Big Shot with our snowflake embossing folder, added some color with markers and finished with a couple gems for some bling - Love it!! We finished this inside with a layered sentiment and the cute little birdie rolling the snowball at the bottom. The second card was also lovely and designed by my daughter Heidi. She used "Bright Hopes" from the current mini catalog. Our layouts were very similar which is unusual for us. She rock and rolled the wreath and then cut it out and popped up on dimensionals (with more bling) and a natural bow made from our linen thread. Very simple and elegant. The craft layer was supposed to be stamped tone on tone with snowflakes -but I forgot -and love it anyway.To see the card with the snowflakes check out Heidi's blog at www.stampinking.blogspot.com Our next Christmas Card stamp camp is Sunday, October 23rd - let me know if you're interested in joining us!

FAMILY

2011-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

So a big part of why we took this trip to the midwest was for a family reunion in central Wisconsin with my brothers and sisters. We put it together kind of last minute, and it was after school had started, so not all the nieces and nephews made it - but those of us that were there had a great time. There are 9 kids in my family - so just us makes quite a crew :) Here are a couple pictures of everyone just enjoying each other and the day - This next picture is my family - seven brothers and one sis. They mean the world to me - each unique and wonderful - and since all but one lives in Wisconsin - I miss them all the time.
This final picture is of me and my big sis, Sharon - even though we're 2000 miles apart we are very close in heart.
Miss you and love you all!! Check back tomorrow for some stamping - and thanks for bearing with me as I shared these memories. Love, Maureen

Foods of the midwest!

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

So you all know that part of the fun of vacation is eating out - at least it is for us - because I cook almost all of our meals at home. So we really look forward to eating local cuisine when we travel. This trip was so much fun, and I wanted to share a few of the foods of Michigan and Wisconsin. We started shortly after landing in Minneapolis. We found a nice little local pizza place, and could not resist their sauerkraut pizza. Yes, you heard correctly - I thought it would be awful - but Paul insisted. It was regular pizza with italian sausage, sauerkraut and lots of cheese - and it was AMAZING. We at half there and the rest later, cold in the hotel room - yum!Next, when we were up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we had to try Pasties. Pronounced "past - ee" not to be confused with "paste - ees" that women stick on their breasts. It's important to pronounce correctly :) The are pastry pockets filled with many different things - these were beef, potatoes and rutabages. They were good - a little mild for my tastes, but good. I'm told they serve many different kinds and you just have to keep trying till you find the one you love - so next time - I'll try another. Finally, I had to share a picture of Cheese Curds - these are a Wisconsin delicacy and we never, ever visit there without stopping by a local cheese factory to get some bright and early in the morning. They are the cheese in an earlier stage of production before being separated from the liquids and pressed into blocks. They are odd shapes, slightly soft, very salty, and they SQUEEK! Honestly, they are so good. We ate a pound of them on the trip over to Michigan and another on the trip back to the airport at the end; as well as we brought four pounds back in our luggage - some for us and some for our daughters. I don't know why these are not popular in California as they are amazing.
Two other must haves - we had to get a bag of Old Dutch Dill Pickle flavored potato chips - they are sooooo0 good. I know there are other brands out there - but Old Dutch is definitely the best. My brother is driving back and bringing two bags back for each of our girls. Paul also had to buy a huge stick (3 lbs I think) of Wisconsin Summer Sausage. It is also sooooo good. We did have a little problem with him being pulled aside at the airport for a luggage check. After he was given the all clear they told us the sausage looked like a big stick of dynomite on the scanner. Yikes!!

Back from Michigan and Wisconsin

2011-09-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Paul and I are recently back from a wonderful vacation to upper Michigan and Wisconsin. It was our first trip back there together since my Mom passed away three years ago. We spent several days in Michigan seeing the sites and then traveled down to Wisconsin where we had a nice reunion with all of my family; and spent a couple days with Paul's Mom. I'm going to blog about this over the next week or so, as this blog has become a wonderful place for me to store pictures and memories and go back and refer to from time to time, so please bare with me. I plan to through in some stamping along the way :) These first two pictures were of the Great Lakes -this is Lake Michigan in the morning outside of our hotel - it was so beautiful. Next is Lake Superior on our drive over to Mackinac Bridge - it was breezy and there were some pretty good white caps coming in. I also wanted to share a picture of the beautiful leaves turning color. At the beginning of our trip the leaves were just starting to turn. Lots of green still with patches of gold and red - it was so nice. Then while we were there there was a freeze and a lot more leaves changed. When we were driving back to the airport in Minneapolis the trees were so colorful, but it was raining and I could not get a good picture to share. Then while we were down in Marshfield, WI we took my mother-in-law, Gloria, for a ride around the area. We went past the houses where they lived while growing up, and some of the places that they had frequented. This picture is Saketts Lake where Paul and his family have fond memories of picnics and family gatherings. It was so pretty and peaceful.Finally here is a picture of Paul and his lovely Mom Gloria at the lake. She is 91 years young and still going strong. I am so happy we had a few days to spend with her.

First Day of School cuties -

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to sharing First Day of School pictures. So crazy seeing my grandbabies growing up sooooo very fast. Here are Prince and Paisley - all set in their new clothes with their new backpacks. Paisley is in 3rd grade and Prince in 1st - amazing!! Next I have a picture of Kamili and Makai - also looking adorable in their new clothes and back packs. Kamili is off to Kindergarten and Makai to her first day of Preschool. Can this even be possible? I'm still getting over the trauma of my daughters heading off to school and that was 27 years ago :) Praying for these little ones as they grow and learn - may God guide their little lives. I love them so.

Up, Up and Away -

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love this set! It is so festive and fun - so I want to share a few more designs using it - All were bonus designs sent as a PDF to those who ordered the Up,Up and Away Palm Tree Perks kit. We also did the middle card as part of my Cards Stamp Camp last week - hope you like them!

Missed Convention Photos

2011-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Was looking through my pictures and noticed I still have a few from convention that I wanted to share. First - as most of you know, my daughter Heidi (www.stampinking.blogspot.com) was an Artisan Award winner this year. Isn't she lovely!! Here she is on stage at the Awards ceremony receiving her recognition - I was (and am) sooo proud of her. I also want to share this picture of part of my downline on stage. We got to walk for recruiting - don't we look excited :) It's Heidi, myself, Julie and Maria - way to go ladies!!

Congrats to my Downline -

2011-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share this cute and simple card I made this month to send out to my top sales and recruiters in my downline. It is a CASE of this great card from Lorri Heiling here - http://stampingaddict.blogspot.com/2011/09/fast-and-simple-card.html It uses one of my absolutely favorite and most versatile sets - Fifth Avenue Floral - my colors are Poppy, Daffodil and Peach - Here's a close-up - easy-peasy and LOVELY!
Want to buy ALL of your Stampin' Up! goodies at a discount? Want to come stamp and play at monthly meetings? Want to learn what's new - before all your friends? Email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll get you signed up to be part of my team of Crazy Stamping Ladies!! Let the FUN begin!

Cards Stamp Camp

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I want to share the cards we made at this month's cards camp. The first is the Up,Up and Away card I showed you previously. I love this card - it has an old fashioned Americana feel to me with the red/white and blue and the balloon. We ruffled a matching strip of DSP across the bottom to add interest. The next card we made was this beautiful fall card using the Gently Falling set from the current Holiday mini. I LOVE FALL - the colors, the feel, the smells - now right through Thanksgiving - I'm a happy girl. This card used the rock and roll technique on the leaves to give that hint of rusty color on the edges. We even added a ribbon of the coordinating Spice Cake fabric. The next card was designed by Heidi (stampinking.blogspot). How cute is that - it uses the Out on a Limb set from the Holiday mini. She had us stamp the branch right on the moon and sponge around it (and the clouds which are made with the top of our cupcake punch) to give them a spooky look. Love it!! It was a fun stamp camp, stamping with friends. Plan to join us Oct. 11 for our next cards camp - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part VI

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Finally I want share Virginia's Secret Sister gift. She got this great plastic box filled with all types of goodies. These sharpies are perfect for coloring the SU pearls and gems - and inside - pearls and gems :) Plus this beautiful set of notecards! What a great gift. All of the Secret sister gifts were so nice - and several didn't receive theirs - so there may be more to come as the month goes on. Hope you enjoyed!

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part V

2011-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay - here is the Secret Sister gift that Sandy received - and I have to tell you - it got amazing oohs and aahs. First it came in this cool gift bag - then inside was this amazing book - can't wait to open it - and inside - it's hollowed out and inside a SECRET :) treat. It is an amazing and fun Halloween gift. It would be a great Stamp Camp.
Check back tomorrow - one more to go!

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part IV

2011-09-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sharing two pictures of the beautiful Secret Sister gift that Maria received - It's an amazing set of beautiful Fall cards - so pretty!! Thanks for stopping by - more to come :)

9-11 Tribute

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today, as I think of 10 years ago - I remember the horror I felt as I watched the events of 9-11 unfold on television. I think I was actually in shock. But what amazes me, is as I sit here and think about it - all of those horrible feelings come back. Sick in the pit of my stomach.

Please pray for the safety of our country. Please remember those who gave their lives in this awful tragedy. Please know this could happen again - and be ever vigilant. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part III

2011-09-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sharing Lyn's lovely (and yummy) gift from her Secret sister. I didn't get a picture of the packaging :( But inside was this cone filled with goodies, and the beautifully wrapped candy bars. Lyn LOVES mint, and I know some (if not all) of this candy was mint flavored and she was in heaven. Here's a close-up view of the candy cone -

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part II

2011-09-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

The next gift I want to share was for Heidi from her Secret Sister - here it is - at first I thought it was a mouse pad cutely decorated - just by the shape and size. But lookey inside - it's a notepad with the letter "K" - her last initial. Pretty cool. And with it this decorated tube filled with these amazing little butterfly clips. Not your ordinary clips - but these have a cute little "C" shape. Nice!

Stop back tomorrow for day 3 of Secret Sister gifts.

September Secret Sister Gifts - Part 1

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

So starting today and for the next several days I'm going to share the wonderful projects that our secret sisters made for each other. We do these at our "All CSL's" quarterly meetings - and the ladies make such wonderful things. It is so much fun seeing all of the amazing creations. These are in no special order - so just enjoy the creativity! So first is this gift box that Bobbie received from her Secret Sister - so adorable - made from our cardstock and even better - it was filled this set of lovely notecards - made with the new in-colors. Just beautiful!
Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2!

More Downline Meeting Shares

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I promised to share the neat bow that Lyn made using her origami flower and "ribbon" made from Stampin' Ups! Lace Ribbon Border Punch. Look how great this package looks. Here's a better close-up of the bow - it's two of the origami flowers from yesterday's post and look at how she curled the 'ribbon' - that's just our Basic Black cardstock. I can't wait to try this.Secondly - each downline meeting we have a challenge - we are currently following the challenges in Stampin' Success (our exclusive demonstrator only monthly magazine from Stampin' Up!) The challenge was to make projects from the new Holiday mini - we only had one entry again - but it was a winner! The entry was from Annette, and she made this adorable card with the new stocking punch - looks like their hanging from the fireplace. You can see but the stocking are textured with our textured plates and look great. Nice job Annette! Finally I want to share what Julie brought to the meeting. We have a share table where people can share up coming Stamping events they are having; and projects they have recently made. Julie made this great fall ornament using our Spice Cake fabric, big buttons and striped ribbon. The picture does not do it justice. It's a unique and great way to showcase these new fall products - thanks so much for sharing this Julie!

Origami Flower Project -

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

At our last downline meeting Lyn led our group through making a beautiful origami flower. Here she is with part of the group as the concentrate on putting their petals together. It all starts our with 10 triangles - they do not have to be different but Lyn made them two different types so that we could tell easier which to put on the center and which to put as the outer petals. These were all made out of Whisper White cardstock. Half are colored with pad to paper direct to get the more solid coverage and the rest were stamped with Fifth Avenue Flower. After curling all three corners of each with a dowel - according to Lyn's instructions - I came up with this loose version of the flower - But Lyn was kind enough to leave her finished one, so that you can see how beautiful the flower can be when you do it right. I'll be practicing this one till I perfect it!Check back tomorrow to see how Lyn created an amazing Halloween bow using this flower.

Fall Flower demo -

2011-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

At our Downline Meeting I did a short demo on making a quick and easy fall type flower to add to projects. Try it and let me know what you think.

Step 1 - Punch a scallop and sponge edges with a darker color - Step 2- cut in toward center between each scallop to create petals - leave about a 1/2" circle in the middle of the scallop - Step 3 - turn the sponged side down on top of a spongy mat or mouse pad and use your bone folder to gently push in the back of each petal to cause it to curl a bit. (Your eyes aren't fooling you - I changed color of my flower during my demo to show the project at the different stages :) - Step 4 - you can see here how the back of the petals go in - this makes each petal look more realistic. Step 5 - turn flower back over with shaded side up - using bone folder press down in the center of flower a bit and add a brad, button, etc. - complete your project. Each lady got to make one of these 3x3" cards - so cute!!

Thanks for stopping by - stop back soon! ~Maureen