Chinese Auction Low Down

We had great time on Sunday at the chinese auction. For those of you who missed it...bummer. We missed you!

The gals who came had fun making two cute projects (I will try to post them later this week) and bidding and winning fun stuff. We also had yummy snacks including pumpkin pie to kick off Fall.

I wanted to post a few of the items that I made for the auction. The goodies tins have little mini round tins inside to store your stamping goodies...i.e. buttons, eyelets, staples, etc. I also lined the top and bottom of each one.

I stamped some large tiles and turned them into dry erase boards. Someone had done this at the SCS dinner during convention and I thought it was such a clever idea that I decided to put it into action. I would love to give that person credit, but I didn't win one and I have no idea who made them. So whoever you are...if you are reading this...thanks for the idea. =) The only downfall to this great idea....now I want all the craft ink so I can stamp stamp stamp away. Dangit! If you want to see a great tutorial on how to stamp on tiles, if you've never done it before, check out the this week's Splitcoast tutorial here. A great idea for holiday gifts and sooo easy.

You may have seen this idea before, but this is formerly a starbucks four pack of coffee drinks that I have recycled into a gift. Each bottle has the label covered with double sided paper and then has a stamp that either says "enjoy" or "sweets" put onto it. I punched the labels out with a scalloped punch and then layered them with a bigger scallop. I didn't think to take a picture of that. Sorry. I filled each jar with different kinds of candy and nuts. I really liked the way this came out, but I have to figure out something else to do with the frappacinno---waaaayyy too many calories. =)

The last picture for today is a tin that I also reformed into a gift tin. This was an eggnog pancake mix tin that I received for Christmas last year. It was such a cute tin (William & Sonoma) that I couldn't bear to just pitch it.....so I stamped it with some fall leaves from last year's set that was featured in Country Living and filled it with bath goodies that I found at the dollar spot at Target. I totally LOVE that spot. =)

I hope you like the pictures....everyone seemed happy with their winnings. Thanks for coming!

Happy Stamping!

Back from the Bunker...for a minute

Labor day weekend was full of LABOR in the bunker...as it began it's transformation from a bunker to a true studio. My DH who is super-duper-mega darling...in case you didn't know, helped me revamp my cabinets and countertops, added new lighting and I have been a paintin' and cleaning and organizing. Things are getting put back and are starting to straighten up, but I still have some work ahead of me. I have found some time to stamp, just not time to post my newest creations. So....without further adieu....here are two RAKs that I sent to my Bellaholic friends. In case you were wondering....I LUV the Bellas and their Fellas and the Fellas and Bellas together. Whew. So what do you think?

Remember when I told you that August through December was jam packed with Birthdays. I wasn't lyin'! =) So I had to stamp some more birthday cards for family and I have posted those here as well. The first card is made with the text boxed set from Paper Trey. If you haven't checked them out yet....you should. Where have you been under a rock or something? Sheesh! Anyway...this is one of the many stamps you receive and I LOVE LOVE LOVE their stamps. They have the cutest stuff. I embossed the chipboard star in gold and then rolled it in dazzling diamonds. The "W" is from the new Outline Alphabet by SU and the definition stamp is from the Define Your Life set. Love those too.

The next card also uses Define Your Life and the coordinating Defining Alphabet. We did this similar technique at convention and I fell in love with it. I am quickly becoming and avid scrapbooker and both of these were must haves. The little stick guy was created from the All In The Family set also by SU. If you haven't seen this set yet....it is DARLING! You can create various stick figures from baby's to kids to mom's and dad's. It even includes a dog and a cat and you can also get accessories such as soccer ball, present and a tutu to go with them. Again....so cute. Love it!

The last card again uses Define Your Life and Defining Alphabet as well as Circle of Friendship which I placed behind the clear button. The punch is from Party Punch (Level 1 HS) which was punched out with the label punch. Also a very cute set that makes good use of your punches. The notebook border was also created with the notebook punch. I pierced the corners and viola. I also used some of the new 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon on this card. It was hard to let it go....because as you know I am a hoarder...but I have come to grips with it now. Hee hee!

In my spare time I whipped up some save the dates for my BIL and future SIL. I will post those later, as I haven't had time to photograph them yet. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, don't forget about the Chinese Auction on Sunday afternoon from 1-4. There will be some fun stuff for you to bid on, a make and take and for one day only 50% off my retired stamps. Come on over if you haven't got plans.

Until later....Happy Stamping!

I finally cleared away the paperwork...

I finally cleared space around my laptop so that I could post a real post for you all. Let me start by saying that convention was ultra-fun and that I am amazed that Stampin' Up! can always pull off such a great show. I don't know how they keep coming up with such great ideas for us....but they do. Some of you know that I was rather skeptical of the new catty prior to convention....but after learning all the fun things and seeing some of those new things in action....I am a convert. I can't spill all my knowledge here...because you would be reading FOREVER. But, you will be able to see all of my learning in future classes. FUN STUFF coming your way. Stay tuned.

Convention also helped me reassess my stamping goals and dreams....so hopefully I can make some of those come true in the next year or so. Stay tuned on that front.

So what did you all think of my swaps? The swap for SCS and the dinner were FABULOUS! If Melissa reads this....a big thank U to you for coordinating and hosting. She did a fabulous job. I can't imagine planning a dinner for 100 people twice. But she did with class. Bravo girlfriend!

So what have I been doing you ask? Since convention ended nearly a month ago? Well, the Bunker is currently undergoing a transformation, which means it is in worse shape than it normally is...but with any luck....things will be MUCH better when it is finished. If only I can live through the disaster that it currently is until that time. August is a HUGE birthday month for us....so I have been making birthday cards, thank you notes and teacher presents as well.

We start school on Wednesday....Kindergarten....my baby has gotten so big. How is that possible? sniff sniff. So, I hope to post a picture of the gift for his teacher sometime this week. But every night we have either school or soccer something....so it might not make it up until the weekend.

Also, for those of you who don't know...my yearly Chinese Auction is this Sunday. Fabulous items to bid on, classes to sign up for and of course half price stamps. (retired that is). So, if your in the neighborhood and want to swing over, I'll see you Sunday. If you need info, send me an email.

In the meantime, I decided to put one of my favorite new stamp sets to use. If you haven't visited the girls over at Papertrey, I would highly recommend heading over there soon. They have the KA-UTEST stuff. So, I dug into my stash...it's amazing what you find when your cleaning and found the accents and elements kit from around Valentine's Day and the coordinating DSP and I made these cards. I challenged myself to just use those three items, and this is what I came up with. What do you think?

The last card is the card I made for my FIL for his birthday. I think it's pretty manly if I do say so myself. I think I might be in love...with chipboard that is. *grin*

For all of you reading....thank you! Happy Stamping and I'll see ya soon! =)

Hey Ladies....how would you like a new tv?

Check out this great contest! 5 Minutes for Mom is Giving away a 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV!!! You have to enter by August 17th (tomorrow). Check out the link here. =) Good luck!

I'm on my way....sorta....

Well, I will be on my way after I finish packing, load the car, take a shower and get dressed. Everyone knows that I am a HUGE procrastinator...and I work well under pressure. I plan to put that on my resume someday when I go back to the "real" world. If I ever go. So where am I going you ask??? ....to CONVENTION of course!!!!! Woo hoo! The day is finally here and although I have had my ups and downs about convention this year (what with all the retiring news) I am psyched to be heading downtown and to convention. I am ready to get pumped up, learn lots and then come back and share it all with you. Yeah!

I know you are probably in blog-shock right now, because I managed to post twice in one day...and let's face it....that never happens. But, I wanted to leave you with pictures of the swaps I created for convention. The two ATCs (Artistic Trading Cards) were most definitely the most difficult because of the limited amount of space. They each show a specific technique, both of which you can plan on seeing in upcoming classes. One is faux wood and the other is faux linen. Let me know what you think.

The next two cards are for the Splitcoast Stampers dinner/swap tomorrow night. The pirate one took me forever....but I like the way it turned out. On this original, I used the copper cord interwoven with two shades of ribbon...but Stampin' Up! threw me for a loop when they retired the cording, so the swaps actually just have two colors of ribbon instead of the cord too. The cherry card also had to be revamped because Stampin' Up! retired the pearl ex. I did a new technique on that one too...also coming to a class near you. *grin*

The last two are for general convention. I broke out of the box a little on these and didn't use "all" Stampin' Up! product....but what's a girl to do....sometimes you just gotta punch stuff...and I wanted a scallop punch...so there. Ha! I also am in love with my cuttelbug and wanted to share the love. So I figure if people don't want to trade...they don't want to trade....there will always be someone else who wants to trade.

For an extra special treat...I have also shared with you the swap that my friend and fellow demonstrator gave to me to swap for her. She is in Hawaii for 2 weeks (big ahhhhh here) so I told her that if she brought me back a cabana boy I would be happy to swap for her. Hahahahahahaha!!!! But really....isn't her work Bayootiful???? I love her....she is the sweetest lady and I am so glad that I get to see her artistic talents first. Yeah!!!!

So until next week.....I am off to celebrate stamping with all the other crazy stampers. Beware of Denver....as it is Stampapalooza 2007.

Happy Stamping!

Anniversary Cards....

I wanted to show off my mom's card that she made us for our anniversary and another little card she made me. She is such a good little stamper....she just needs about another 12 hours in the day to get all the things done that she wants to....but don't we all. She used the cuttlebug on the thank you card and the oval punch as a border in the middle of the card. How clever don't you think?

The last one is the card I made for my DH for our anniversary. Man cards are always a challenge for me. I am just not good at no flowers, no ribbon and lots of "man" stuff. Go figure. But, hey "truck" just screams "man" doesn't it. Didn't think I could go wrong with this one. I had to steal it back to share it with you all. Hope you like it!

Stampin' Up! Retired Sets I am Selling

In case you haven't heard....the new catalog is here. I don't love it, but I don't unlove it. I guess I am mostly disappointed because Stampin' Up! got rid of so much and really didn't seem to replace a lot of it. It is making me wonder whether or not I want to continue with Stampin' Up! Time will tell I guess. Convention is around the corner, maybe that will revitalize my spirit a little.

So, with the new catalog...comes the clean out of some of my retired sets. This year it's a lot...or it seems like a lot to me. Anyway, I found a way to make this cool slideshow....see below. I took pictures of all the sets that I have for sale that are retired. You can click on the picture to make it stop and it will give you the name.

If you are interested in any of these sets, send me an email at eyeleteers@comcast.net and let me know which set you would like and if you would like it mailed or would like to pick it up. I will add shipping charges onto your total if I mail it. I can take all major credit cards and personal checks/money orders.

I will keep the sets available until August 31st and then they are going to ebay.

I haven't had a whole lot of extra time to stamp because I am in a swap making frenzy and have been busy with Vacation Church School this week. Someday the swaps will be done and I will get back to some fancy pants stampin! If there is something you would like to see, or any ideas, leave a comment on this blog. I promise to post samples of my swaps as convention gets closer. I hope you will like them. =) I have been workin' hard.

Happy Shopping and Happy Stamping!