TEAM gifts from Heidi....

I don't think I ever shared these simply adorable gifts my daughter Heidi made for the members of our TEAM attending OnStage in November.  They are Trader Joe's coffee and tea chocolate bars - that come in really fun packaging to start.  Of course mine was a coffee one - 

But then with some simple stamping and cutting - she decorated them just delightfully!  I am a clean and simple girl - and these to me are just sooooo cute!  A rainbow of treats!

She used the Coffee Cafe set on page 31 of our annual catalog - and some beautiful cardstock colors to compliment the candy wrappers.
Hope you find a way to pretty up a gift for someone -  you just might make their day! ~Maureen

Final Shoebox Swap Cards

Sharing the final Shoebox Swap Cards that I made.  For some reason the one I made of Virginia's is LOST :(  Don't know how that happened - I'll keep looking and hope to find soon - and when I do, I will post it!  But for today - we have Heidi's card which I LOVED - so simple, yet so great for birthdays - and the colors are fantastic!

Then Karen's card - she cased a card right off the front cover of the current occasions catalog - adding a few changes.  But it is also such a fun, happy birthday card -

Finally my card - which is also basically a CASE.  But using almost the same color combo as Karen's above.  With me sending cards nearly every day - each of these will be great to use for upcoming birthdays.  Do you want a card from me?  Email me your date of birth and address and you've got it!

Hope you enjoyed the cards.  Shoebox swaps can be some much fun and you come home with a bunch of cute cards.  Love it!  See you all soon!  ~Maureen

Sunday Morning Musings from a former sickie! and a Happy Birthday Wish!

Happy Sunday - praising God for this day of feeling good as the last 24 hours were miserable!  This is my first cup of coffee since dinner Friday night - I was so, so sick.  Woke up in the middle of the night with such a bad headache - felt like my head was going to explode.  Then around 9:30 AM - the stomach stuff hit - I threw up about every 1/2 hour all day till 10:30 PM - could not eat a thing.  A little sip of water sent me running to the bathroom.  But around 11PM I could tell I was doing better.  By this morning, I was able to eat and have coffee again!!!!  My only after affect is a pulled muscle in my back from all the heaving.  Sorry for the graphic account - but these are my musings :)

Love this set up coffee mugs I received for Christmas last year from my friend, Septembra.  It is a set of four in different colors, and every time I drink from them they remind me of my Mom.  We must have had a set that was similar to these.  And she was also a coffee LOVER.  She is especially on my mind today, as it would have been her 96th birthday if she was still alive - miss her every day!

~*~*~*~*~

I also wanted to share a great Sale-a-bration set that you can earn free by placing an order with me for $50 or more - but you have to act fast, as this set is only available through Feb. 15, 2016.  You can order through my website by clicking the SHOP NOW button on the right of this page to view the catalogs, order and have it shipped right to your home.  You don't want to miss out on getting this set.  Below is a masculine version that I made for cards for my brothers' birthdays this year - all seven of them.  If they are reading my blog - they will need to close their eyes so they don't see it - lol! 

I recently started a growth group with my downline - and wanted to get a journal just to use for those exercises - so I used the same set to decorate the front of my journal.

And using almost the same layout - made a bunch of these more feminine versions of the card to send out for encouragement to my downline.

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Last, but certainly not least - I want to wish a very happy birthday to this beautiful young woman, my youngest daughter, Heidi.  She shares this birth date with my Mom - which is so cool to me.  I am so very proud of her and all she has done as an entrepreneur, a daughter, a sister, a Mom, a wife and the list goes on.  She is amazing and I'm wishing her a life where truly - the Sky is the limit!!! Love you kiddo!

See you all soon - have a great Sunday!  ~Maureen
Here's the full picture of what is included in this FREE SAB set with your $50 order.  Clicking on it will take you to my website also.

Sky Is The Limit Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$0.00

Beautiful Thank you!! Bringing back birthdays!

Gotta share this beautiful "thank you" note from my daughter, Heidi.  It was unexpected and really made my day - just reminded me of what it means to get a handmade card in the mail. 

So in the spirit of handmade cards - here is what I posted on my personal facebook page and am posting again -
I love to make cards, send cards and receive cards. So for 2016 - I am joining Shannon West in sending a REAL, hand stamped birthday card to everyone that sends me their birthday and address. My email link is on the right sidebar.  Shannon West, a Training Manager at Stampin' Up!, had a wonderful idea to send a birthday card to everyone who responded to her post. She thinks (and I agree) that Facebook has ruined birthday cards, so she wants to change that. She is inspiring MANY people to send REAL cards in the mail and using the hashtag. ‪#‎imbringingbirthdaysback‬. If your birthday was already this year - still send it please - I can always send a late card! 
Stampingly, Maureen

Personal Post Monday - I've been crocheting :)

I do love lots of different crafts - and even though I'd say stamping is my favorite - in the evenings, while relaxing and watching TV I love to crochet.  I can pretty much do it without looking down much - so I can enjoy TV and accomplish something at the same time.  Today I wanted to share some of the afgans I have made over the last year.  The first I gave to my daughter, Jenee - I picked the colors and she liked it - so it was hers.  But I think if she wants I'll let her pick out colors and make her another more personal for her.

 

So after showing my other daughter, Heidi, what I had made, I asked if she'd like one and she said yes, and she wanted me to pull out some of the colors from her pillows on her couch - so I did - and below is her finished afghan.

So after making hers I had a bunch of yarn left - so I made up this afghan below.

And by then my scrap yarn basket was pretty full - so I decided to make an afghan up just of scraps - and here it is.  I actually really like how it turned out.  No rhyme or reason - just stripes of scraps.  And it is all double crochet - so nice and warm.  I'm sure it will be used in the winter months ahead.

Now I think I'll work on some baby afghan's for gifts next.  Thanks for letting me share another one of my hobbies with you today.   Just one of many things that makes me happy and thankful.  Also wanted to let you know that on Friday, September 25, I'll be participating in the Fall 2015 "Coffee Lovers Bloghop" - so be sure you stop back for that.  You'll be able to hop through hundreds of blogs seeing great card designs - so don't miss it!!  ~Maureen

Final Convention Round-up

So today I'll share the rest of my Convention memories - it was such a fun experience.  First off my lanyard and name tag at check in time!

A view of just a few of the stampers there from the escalator.

Main stage where all of the general sessions were held - they always decorate it so beautifully.

The unveiling of the new Holiday catalog - I placed my pre-order today and there was sooooo much stuff I wanted, but I was able to real myself in a bit and start slow - mostly things for my Halloween projects for now.

 

A couple of the cute little projects we were able to make and get our hands on some of the new product.

Our Crazy Stamping Ladies' Group -

 

Diane, Toni, Xandra, Jeri, myself and Heidi!

A fun Paper Pumpkin promotion set we were able to purchase.

A special leadership/years of service award full of stamping goodies.

Our annual end of convention dinner at PF Chang's with a couple friends.

And when I got home - this was my haul - actually there are even things missing.  It was really an amazing time - the final convention as we know it.  From now on it will be semi-annual OnStage events held all over the world - so I am glad I was able to attend this one in Salt Lake City.

Stop back soon.  Stampingly, Maureen

Gifts from convention

So part of the fun of convention is downline and roommate gifts - so that last couple posts showed what I made - but today I'm posting a few of the things I received.

Birthday box full of salt water taffy from Toni!

Beautiful composition notebook journal from Heidi!  Plus some yummy homemade caramels.

Adorable little bag filled with awesome chocolates from Stefanie.

Keeping a few more goodies to share with you next time - but here are three great stamping ideas you can share for teacher, birthday, or your just my friend gifts :)   ~Maureen

Heidi's Downline Project

So for Saturday's meeting - Heidi came through in a pinch for me with a project for the downline group.   It was this adorable little card.  I especially loved it as it used a couple items I had really over-looked in the catalog - the "Endless Thanks" set on page 14 and the "Writing Notes" background stamp on page 40.  Ladies - I have looked my catalog over and over - and missed both of these gems. 

The card is simply adorable - the background stamp had now been ordered by me :) and the Endless Thanks is on my list!  Just look how cute the card is with that note paper on there.

This close up shows the doily, the staples, the holes in the note paper, and the items that we popped up - all giving the card some great texture and dimension.  So pretty!!! Thanks Heidi, for having my back!!!   ~Maureen
Here are some of the products used to make this project - 

Endless Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set

$16.00

Writing Notes Clear-Mount Background Stamp

$15.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Perfect Plum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Tea Lace Paper Doilies

$3.00

Whisper White Medium Envelopes

$6.50

Glue Dots

$5.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Whisper White Baker's Twine

$3.00

Handheld Stapler

$10.00

Silver Mini Staples

$4.00

Mother's Day gifts....

Finally getting around to posting my Mother's Day gifts.  This year Paul and I went out to dinner earlier in the week to avoid the crowds, and then on the actual day, for the first time ever I did not see my kids or grandkids - so it was all a bit sad :(   But I was not forgotten - besides the dinner out from hubby, my daughter Heidi gave me these gifts - 1) an amazing "cloche" that she picked up at a local swap meet.  It is so vintage looking and she filled it with a pot of succulents to grace my table. The first picture is without a flash and the second with so you can see the detail a little more.

 

She also made me this rustic ball jar wall hanging for our new house.  It can be used for art pencils, pens, etc. or even fresh flowers.  Looking forward to finding just the right spot to place it.

And my other daughter, Jenee, sent me a beautiful card with a Spa Finder gift card - once we get settled I plan to find the perfect place to pamper myself with that.  I was planning to take pictures of the cards and post - but realized I had already packed them - lol.  This living between two homes if for the birds!  So even though I was a little lonesome - I am abundantly blessed!!!  ~Maureen