Here I sit in a dear friend's house in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brasil. It's been busy and great! I have been helping her in her English School- www.igwtrust.com.br We put together a craft class for a few people today. They loved it! All new to them. We in the U.S. take alot for granted I have realized. I tried to find envelopes to fit the cards I brought, but none to be found. We settled on some larger ones, which they are happy to have. Have 3 moreclasses planned to do before I leave. Most enjoyable. I hope to post some pics. I know that they won't be in order, but I will get stuff up soon. More to come. 

It has been so crazy these past few months and it doesn't seem to be slowing down soon. Here is a little check list of the last 5 months- Do yard sales, quilt raffles to send a son on a mission trip to Panama..check   Take care of mom who has broken ankle, dr. visits & such...check. Send son off to Panama...check.  Welcome him back home after a month....check. Work on school curriculum for son...check. Find respite care for mom...check. Send off for visa for trip to Brasil..working on that one still.  Get crafts together for Christmas boutique in November(110 baby burp cloths and counting) check.  Whew! I keep telling myself that someday I will slow down. I relish the time when I sneak away up to my craft room and work on cards. It has become my sanctuary. Time to ponder and create. So this week includes finishing the Brasil visa, working with my son, taking mom to the Dr., working on a card class workshop, picking  our daughter up from the airport, getting my mom taken care of for when we leave this weekend for an international convention,...ah check. . Yep that's my world.
I will be posting pics of cards soon.

Well Here we are

This week my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It was quite an interesting few days. All our plans to make this an "event" didn't really come together, BUT, we did enjoy being with each other, talking and dreaming of the next 30....and isn't that whats it's all about. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband.I love you.  To the next 30 years my dear!

ONE MORE CARD and I'M DONE

This last card turned out to be my favorite for this month. I started out with Daffodil Delight cs, rolled with the In Stitches roller in Basic Black ink. On the Whisper White cs, I place a piece of tissue that has been stamped with the Pattern Pieces stamp in Melon Mambo, wrinkle up the tissue, smooth it out and then glue it down. All the sewing elements on the card are from the Sew Suite stamp set. The buttons are punched out of 4 colors-Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Tempting Turquoise, using the Sweet Buttons embosslit run through the Big Shot. On the thread spool I used the Balsa Wood found in the Idea Book & Catalog. Notice it has a "real"  needle through it with thread. The tape measure is Very Vanilla seam binding inked with Daffodil Delight, stamped with the tape measure in Basic Black ink . I didn't have a sentiment for the card that I wanted, so I came up with one. Did it in my MDS(My Digital Studio)           Used my    1 3/4x  7/8  large oval punch as a template to get the wording the right size. Printed it on Whisper White cardstock. Large scallop oval punch in Melon Mambo. Used WaterColor crayons  and a blender pen for the sewing machine.So there are the cards for the APRIL HOSTESS CLUB. 

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MONTH

For my club members, I always try to have a new technique for them to try. This months technique is called "Burned Batik". I love the resources available on SplitcoastStampers. I started with Marina Mist cardstock as the card. Layered with a piece of Whisper White cs. Stamp the images from the Nature Walk stamp set in VersaMark. Then embossed with clear embossing powder. Rather than stopping when the powder is melted, you continue on till the powder melts into the paper. Be careful not to get too close with your heat gun as it will scorch the paper. If you hold the cardstock up to the light, you will be able to see the images coming through on the other side. Have your ink refills ready, drop a few drops of 3 colors on a plastic mat or lid. Mist your paper with water, dab your 1st sponge in the 1st ink color. Gently dab on misted cardstock. Do this with the other 2 colors.  I used Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake ink refills. You will probably have to mist it a few more times during the process. Now don't be discouraged how it is looking, the finished product will surprise you(in a good way). I do a little darker ink around the embossed images to let the ink seep in. Use your heat gun to dry the paper. Turn it over on the wrong side for it to curl back out the right way. I finished it with 2 pieces of the Botanical Gazette DSP, Pear Pizzaz seam binding threaded through a Vanilla flower slider. The sentiment stamped with Early Espresso ink on Crumb Cake cs is from the Heard from the Heart stamp set. The tutorial for this card is found on www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/burned_batik  They recommend using a bold line stamp in their tutorial, but I tried it with the fine line stamp set. Some fine line stamps would probably lose their image definition when being heated. Something to experiment with. Have fun. 

More cards for April

This card was done with Paisley Designer Series Paper thats available this month. Cherry Cobbler is the cardstock I used for the card. Then the  Paisley DSP. On top of that is Tangerine Tango cut out of the Top Note die cut. Used the Sweet Stems sizzlet on the same DSP. Gathered Cherry Cobbler seam binding highlighted with pearls. The sentiment is from the Word Play stamp set. A quick and simple card.

APRIL'S HOSTESS CLASS

Had so much fun this month with the stamp class. With this being the last month of the Occasions Mini Catalog, I had so much I wanted to share with them, but had to cut it down to 5 projects. :) The 1st card is done with the Blossom Punch and the Build a Blossom stamp set( at the request of one of the club members). I used Pear Pizzaz, Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White cardstock.. I ran the Baja Breeze thru the bigshot with the Perfect Polka Dot impressions folder. I curled up the petals and put them together with glue dots. After it was assembled, I painted some Shimmer White on the petals and dotted the middle. I also used Crystal Effects on the center dots after it dried. The word is from the stamp set: Perfect Punches, which has the coordinating punch.  The scalloped paper is from the In Color paper pack, using the Eyelet border punch.

For the next card, which were really 4 little envelopes, I  took advantage of the special with the Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper that will be in the new 2011/2012 Stampin Up Catalog. We just got a sneak peak, along with a stamp set, Four Frames, which coordinates with the Decorative Label punch. I wanted to have them use all four stamps, so what better way than to do 4 cute little gift cards. Used several  colors that are in the Paisley paper. The die cut was the scallop envelope. Tied it up with Pear Pizzaz seam binding. Check back later for the rest of the class.