LAST CHANCE!

Last Day to Order from 2010-2011 Catalogs - is THURSDAY, June 30TH.

Remember that TODAY Thursday, June 30, 2011, is the last day to order merchandise from the following catalogs and remember that if you order any stamp set from the "LAST CHANCE" list on my website, you'll get a coupon from me for $1.00 off any set in the new catalog beginning July 1, 2011. Order two "LAST CHANCE" sets, get a $2.00 coupon, etc. - no limit!! So order your sets NOW - you know you wanted them - so here's your last chance to get them - and a get a BONUS coupon to boot!!
2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog
2010-2011 Celebrando Creatividad
2010-2011 Definitely Decorative Brochure

You must place all orders by the following deadlines:

Phone or email to me: Thursday, June 30, 2011; 4:00 PM (MT)
Online through my website: Thursday, June 30, 2011; 5:30 PM (MT)
Shop now here - http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/default.aspx

Yesterday was my SU Retirement Party

This was added later - just wanted you to see how great the bookmark we made works on my book - nice huh!!

No - not me - I'm not retiring, but a BUNCH of sets are. So each year at this time I do an Open House and invite customers to come browse through and purchase retired sets, papers, ribbons, wheels, etc. I don't sell anything that is going away in July of this year. Everything I sell was retired already last July. Just makes it less confusing to me. So besides some refreshments, we also do several FREE make and takes - just for FUN!! Here's the first one we did - a 3"x3" gift card using the new flower punch from our mini catalog, and the sentiment is from a retiring set. The second project was this Patriotic Pennant using our retiring Pennant die - And the third was this corner page book mark. I saw how to make these on Splitcoast Stampers and love them because they fit snuggly over the corner of the page you are on, and the don't stick outside the book. I used the retiring Sense of Time set - and I love the sayings. This is the front - "An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth." How true is that!

The back says "Learn from yesterday, Live for today, Hope for tomorrow." Words to live by!The day was lots of fun and a success as I sold a lot of retired product to make way for the new. But still have lots to sell. Ebay here I come :) Hope everyone had a good time!

First Scrappy Scrapbook Stamp Camp

Hi all - this week I held my first Scrapbook Stamp Camp - and I think it went well. We did a 2 page layout based on a movie night theme. If you remember I made a card with the cup of popcorn for Paisley's birthday and said I was going to try and do this layout. Here's page 1 -
And here's page 2 -

We made the popcorn cup a little taller and narrower to fit better on the scrapbook page - and the popcorn was made with the top of the cupcake punch, and then each piece was sponged with Saffron for the buttery look -

Please excuse the glare!
Here a close up of the movie clapper - it would be the perfect place to put a date or do some journaling with a white gel pen.

Next is the movie reel - I can't believe Stampin' Up! is discontinuing this great spiral border punch - I use it for soooo many things. (The Star punch is going away too!) Each white rectangle could hold a picture or journaling or maybe some real ticket stubs from the movies. The little popcorn was colored by hand and the small pieces of the cupcake top cut off and layered.

Finally - here is the two page layout together.

I hope to scrap Paisley's party on the layout - and when that is done I'll be sure to post it - thanks for stopping by!!

Come Join the FUN!!

Stampin’ Up! RETIREMENT Open House

Saturday, June 25 - 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Maureen's Home in Simi Valley

(Address given if needed at sign-up)

It’s that time of year again – can you believe it – the time when Stampin’ Up! announces what sets and accessories will be retired in the new catalog that begins in July. So once again Heidi and I are hosting our annual Retirement Open House. Don’t miss out of the fun – HUGE discontinued set and product sale; BONUS coupon for purchasing retirement sets on the list; FUN and FREE Make and Takes; Doorprize drawings; and MORE. Special gift if you are one of the first 10 RSVP’s and BONUS doorprize ticket if you bring a friend not currently on our customer list (friend must be at least 16 years of age.)

Wonderful, cool Spring

I love plants and greenery and outside beauty - but usually it is so hot in southern Cal where we live that it is hard to keep things blooming and green. But this spring has been wonderfully cool, and we've had late rains and my yard looks great. Here are my pink calla lilies in bloom - And for some reason my Easter lilies are blossoming -

My hydrangeas are lovely - here's a varigated one -

See the flowers up close - they have streaks of white and green - And here's a pure pink one -

And my aloe vera - is beautiful -

Finally - here's our little garden - we've been picking a bowl of peas daily - and they are
yummy. Unfortunately the cool weather has kept the corn from growing. It's small and already tasseling, so not sure if we'll get anything there.

But the tomatoes, squash, chives, cilantro and basil all look great!

May Downline Congrats

Here are the cards I made to congratulate my downline for top sales. I found these sheets and cut layers for cards I made years ago at a stamp camp - it was using the One Sheet Wonder technique. So I put them together in these cards - And here are a few of them close-up -

It's tough using cards you've prepped before, but I think they came together okay. Great job on sales for May ladies!!

To the Men in my Life....

I just want to take a minute to say "THANK YOU" to some amazing Dad's - First my sweetheart, Paul. What a wonderful Dad and Papa he is to our daughters and their families. He is there to help them when ever they need help, or love, or just someone to talk to. We are so lucky to have him as a part of our lives - Next are my sons-in-law Aaron and Robert and here are their pictures respectively. Aaron is married to Heidi and Daddy to Kamili, Makai and Zavian - And Robert to Jenee and Daddy to Paisley, Prince and Zamarah -
And I just want to take a moment to let them know how much we love them and appreciate what wonderful Father's they are to our precious Grand-kids. We are certainly blessed!!

Finally I want to honor my father, Basil - he passed away when I was 20 years old, (this picture is just a few months before his death), and I still miss him. He was a wonderful father to his nine children - not perfect - but loving and caring and I have great memories of my times with him. Miss you Daddy!! I'm blessed for having had you in my life.

Say Goodbye to some of my Favs -

This is it! The last month of the catalog year - and come July 1 some great sets will no longer be available :( So this week at my cards class all of our cards featured some of these sets that are going away. The first one is a watercolored image from the set "A Flower for All Seasons" - this is such a nice set and perfect for every season of the year. The images are adorable and easy and fast to watercolor. The verse is from a Hostess set in our current Mini Catalog. Note the little gem we added to the flower on the verse for that little touch of bling. The second card uses a great set called "Petal Pizzaz" - I love this set, as it goes well with any color combo and it's bold and quick. This is a favorite go to set, if I need a quick card. We used masking to layer the flowers and our Pumpkin Pie taffeta ribbon, which is also going away. The verse is from another retiring set called "Wonderful Favorites", which is a great set as it has many words that give you lots of options - inside this card is the word "Mother" -

And finally, here is the card I previewed earlier this week using the "Party Hearty" set. This is another bold and quick set - so fun for birthday cards - and it goes wonderful with our retiring "Celebrations" DSP -

Will be sad to see these go - but you can still order any of these sets - you can check out the complete retiring list here - LAST CHANCE - and place your order NOW before they're gone for good July 1! Just email me your order at crazystampinglady@gmail.com or click on the "Shop Online" Icon at the top of this blog.

Gramma Day with Kamili

Last weekend I had my special day with Kamili - we headed off to Denny's for breakfast, then we went to "Paint a Dream" where Kamili and I worked together painting a kitten (that she named Frankenstein). She wanted to make a kitten as their family just recently added an adorable little tiger kitten to their home, but that one is named 'Feather'. So here we are painting - And here is Kamili in a close-up with her kitty - she painted it pink, yellow, green and blue - so cute. She didn't understand why we couldn't take it home, but Frankenstein needs to be fired, and when I pick her up next Thursday, she'll be all shiney and bright. Hopefully it will be worth the wait for her. She is such a cutey and full of energy and questions - we talked about everything from pets to fashion to God - what a great way to spend a Saturday.Then she wanted a pretzel and cheese for lunch, so we found one in the Mall, and here she is enjoying. Note the blue slushy drink on the table - This is how her tongue looked after enjoying it - sooo fun. We went to my house, and played with dolls and colored and played. She wanted to make a quick trip to her favorite store - Target. Then stopped by Frozen Yougurt and picked some up to take home to share with Mommy, Makai and Zavian. Such a fun day together. Next month - Makai's day with Gramma :)

Convention Planning Meeting

Last week the group of Crazy Stamping Ladies going to convention had our second pre-convention planning meeting. We're so excited (especially now that we all go our preview catalogs), and we discussed flights, hotel, schedules, etc. We also made these little luggage tags to hang on our convention bags. Each lady got to pick their own colors of DSP, cardstock and ribbon - so each is unique. It's important to have something unique to hang on your convention bag, as all the bags look the same other wise and it's easy to lose yours :) Here's the front view of mine - And on the back - our contact info - just in case we misplace our convention bag. But I can't imagine that happening. Can't wait to see what this year's looks like!! I'm thinking natural colors like tan and green since our theme is "Grow". Woo Hoo - SLC here we come!

End of the School Year celebrations -

It's that time of year again - last week all my grand-kids schools ended for the summer and that meant celebrations of many types. Paisley's class did an end of the year play/dance about the weather. Here she is in her WIND costume - she did such a great job!Then Prince got an end of the year award for Academic Progress - here he is proudly displaying his award certificate - way to go Prince!!And finally Kamili's pre-school class had an end of the year open house and fund-raiser. Here Kamili is with her pre-school teacher.Such a fun week of celebrations - next year Makai enters pre-school - so that will mean one more celebration :)

Cards, Cards, Cards Camp

THIS CARDS CAMP IS NOW FULL AND WE ARE FORMING A WAITING LIST!

So tomorrow night is my monthly Cards camp - usually full but this month not - I'm sure it's because everyone is sooooo busy this time of year. But I'm hoping a couple more of you can join us. Here is just one of the cards we'll be making - all three designs feature stamps that are going, going, gone - come July 1. Cards, Cards, Cards Stamp Camp*

Tuesday June 14 - 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (or so)

Maureen's Home in Simi Valley

NOTE: there will be no Cards SC in July due to Convention.

We'll be making 6 Cards (2 each of 3 different designs) Using retiring sets that will not longer be available come July. Each card will be a different fold, layout, color and/or style. On-time drawing at 7:05 PM Cost: $15.00 or FREE with a $30.00 purchase of SU merchandise at the stamp camp. All materials provided. Light refreshments served. No additional purchase required.

Limit 12. Must RSVP to hold your spot.

Downline Meeting Project

So this month Lisa and Virginia led our project for our Downline meeting - Here they are explaining the project (SORRY - I got you both with your mouths open) - We made this swinging card - here is one side - And here is the other. It was a great project, as I don't think any of us had done this before. I love trying something new - thank you so much ladies - you're the best!!

Secret Sister June - Part V

So her are the wonderful cards I got from My Secret Sister last Saturday - she knows my favorite color is yellow - and these are soooo bright and cheery - thank you!!This next gift was for Theresa - looks at that beautiful use of a collage frame - and then she did her card to match that layout -nice job!

Finally - here is Bobbie's gift from her Secret Sister - an adorable decorated pail filled with a set of lovely 3x3" cards.

I think that's it for now - great job everyone!!!

June Secret Sister - Part IV

And the gifts go on and on and on - what a great group of secret sisters we have. just look at this lovely gift Lyn got - these four beautiful cards - and if that was not enough - They came in this lovely little wood crate!

And then Karen's gift came in this beautiful box - with that big bow on top -

and inside she got a ton of great cards for every occasion - she's set!!

Still more to come - check back tomorrow!!

Secret Sister June 2011 - Part III

Here are some more of our wonderful Secret Sister gifts - first, look at this beautiful card Virginia received from her Secret Sis - I've got to try making these blocks that look like quilts - they are soooo beautiful. And here is the rest of her gift - lots and lots of gift cards and goodies to enjoy! And here is Julie's lovely card and box full of yummy chocolates - So beautiful. And we're not done yet - check back tomorrow!!