Spooky Treats from our Downline Meeting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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