The Reunion!

I hope this post finds each of you still enjoying your family after all the holiday hussell and bustle. Typically Christmas is my favorite time of year! This year has been a little harder with Russ being away. Once we picked him up at the airport on Saturday, my Christmas *spirit* kicked in. I would love to just sit at the airport and watch all the happy reunions. Sure does make me smile. Which is exactly what Russ and I did as we reunited with each other once again. Big smiles! Nothing feels safer than being in the arms of the one you love. Christmas was magical watching the kids open their gifts and seeing their smiling faces. I couldn't believe the time they were up... 5:52!! Jeesh! They were so excited. I still have a few days left with my honey before I return home to pack up the house. While I am here I am trying to figure out where my make shift stamping area will be. I am already craving a stamp while here. I can't go a month without creating. My hand may fall off. While I'm at it I am trying to figure out how I will post my pictures as well. Wish me luck and if you are a computer chic, then help me out. :)

Until next time... toot a loo!

Let me humor you...

Well the bags are packed and I feel like Sanford & Son with the car top carrier on the van. I've been running around in circles trying to make sure the kids have all that they need for the next month while living at my parents. I am sure there will be something forgotten, but that is just life. My Christmas presents are in a laundry basket, unwrapped and ready to be put in the car. I have resigned myself into thinking it could all be done prior to the trip to Pensacola. No need in putting myself in the looney bin at this early age. However, I believe my children are trying hard to put me there. Let me explain. Yesterday in the craziness of our day, Brandon decided to make his friends a card to say good-bye. I noticed he had his scissors out and I never thought anything of it. While chatting on the phone with my brother, I walked by Brandon and noticed that he was acting a little funny hiding his scissors. Then I looked immeadiatly at his hair. Oh my word, he didn't! Why YES, he did! He decided that his bangs needed to be a little shorter than the lady cut just TWO days ago!!! My first thought was to laugh. I just knew my kids would never do this. Actually, this makes me laugh hysterically that I would think this. I could only chat with him about the purpose for his scissors and take a picture. Try to control your laughter... although I know it is tough.

I'm still working on invitations and I am proud to say they are almost done. Meanwhile, I am thinking of some great projects to put on here after the holidays and I get back to Pensacola. I am looking forward to the time to just stamp and scrap.

I'm sure many of you don't watch the Colorado weather like I do, but did you notice they had a little snow storm? {evil chuckle} Yes, just a little. Russ is still snowed in and obviously bored as he is making snowmen outside his door to take pictures for the kids. He claims it's bitter cold. Not sure how my Florida blood will tolerate this. Russ keeps claiming that all this snow is really a FLUKE and it does get warm there. :) Hmm... I wonder if we should buy a snowmobile so I can make it to my local Starbucks that he claims is REALLY close by. It's a thought!

May each of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Smooches!

Yippie Yea!

Oh how I love it when the mailman brings me goodies! It's even better when it is a FREE goodie from Stampin' Up! Today I received a FREE stamp set called Polka Dots and Paisleys from Stampin' Up! They sent every demonstrator a set because they love us so much. They know just how to make our day! {big cheesy smile}! I ripped it open just like a kid and mounted that puppy quickly. Of course, most of you know I am knee deep in invitations, but this stamp set had to have ink on it right away. Chuckle! I just love paisleys. They are so pretty and so fun to stamp. I took Pretty in Pink Cardstock and stamped the bottom of it with the small circles in Chocolate Chip ink. Then I took Choc. Chip cardstock and mounted that. I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and stamped the paisleys using my Pretty in Pink and Choc. Chip markers. I just love pink and brown together! I inked the edges with some choc. chip ink and then took my paper piercer and did faux stitching all along the edges. This just gives it extra spunk. I also used that same small dots stamp over the paisley. I used my giga scalloped punch with the choc. chip cardstock and then the mega circle punch (both Marvy punches can be found at Joanns) with Very Vanilla cardstock and mounted it. I used that small circle stamp once again and stamped off on the Very Vanilla using choc. chip ink. Then I stamped the sentiment in the middle using choc chip ink. I took my horizontal punch and punched the edge of my scalloped circle to tie the ribbon on the edge. Then lastly I took my white gel pen and put little dots around the scalloped edge. This just makes for a very happy card.

Now, the big question to answer... Just where can this stamp set be found??? Well, I am afraid we won't see it until SPRING... in the SPRING mini catty! But it sure is a cutie. I'm hoping it will see more ink VERY soon!!

On a personal note... we had a little tragedy in our house today. Our bird Ollie died. He was a cockatiel and was quite talkative. He was a great bird! The kids woke me up this morning with the news. Once I confirmed that YES, Ollie had passed on to birdie heaven, Alexis had an idea. She felt we should try and feed the bird. Oh the sweet mind of a 3 year old. I explained that Ollie would not be eating the fresh bag of food that I just bought yesterday . Jeesh! We had our small funeral here at the house and the kids didn't see phased the rest of the day. Phew!

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments on the site. I really hope this will inspire someone to get those stamps out and use them!!

Smooches!

Extra! Extra!

Read all about it! Finally, after about an hour I figured out how to get a subscriber thingy ma bob on the blog so you can get notices via email when I have added anything. Remember, my passion is for paper... not computers. :) Anyways, look to your right and you will see a place to enter your email to subscribe. Have a beautiful day!

Getting Closer!

Our time here in Jacksonville is coming to an end. I feel like I am becoming a child again as I throw my own tantrums over this move. There is no other word than "it sucks!" I've been trying to explain to my kids that we are moving and we will be saying good bye to our friends. Yesterday was Brandons last day at school and I took it harder than he did. I hate to admit it, but I cried. I walked into the room and could see a box on his desk with all his things. A huge lump came to my throat and I could feel the tears coming. Meanwhile, my sweet little boy was laughing and playing with his friends. His cubby was empty as well as his desk. I think to myself, "does he have any idea what is going on?" Not really. All the kids said good-bye to him and gave a HUGE group hug. It was just precious. One little girl asked if Brandon would be back. I explained to her as best I could that we are moving to another state. She proceeded to cry. Then I cried. Brandon was still happily playing. I decided to make the rest of the evening a GREAT one. Sometimes, even though there are tons of little things that need to be done, it is best just to be a family! We went to dinner and then ate ice cream and drove around our neighborhood enjoying the Christmas lights. It was fabulous. It wasn't until we got home and looked at the sweet book that Brandon's class made him that it finally sunk into Brandon that we are moving. He cried and was so sad. Just take a sharp object to my heart and pull it out. This is how I felt. I held him tightly and tried to explain this chaos, but a call to Daddy was in order. Not just for Brandon. I needed to hear from Russ as well. He ALWAYS knows how to make things better. He did. :) We went to bed a little happier. Soon, we will all be together running around our new house silly! There are good things to come! In the meantime, I wanted to share something I made for Brandon's teacher. I had a hard time coming up with something for this GREAT teacher. It needed to be perfect as I think so highly of this woman. She has been an amazing teacher to Brandon. She will be missed! I decided to make her a bunch of all occassion cards and took a box from Wal-Mart and covered it with the new paper from the Winter Mini. I used Modge Podge to put the paper on. I love using this to make altered boxes. The thank you card on top of the box was inspired by one of Debbie Olsens cards from her blog. Here is the final project. I think it came out good. I placed all the cards inside the box and added a picture of Brandon and her on the first day of school. Thanks for listening to me ramble!

So Very...

glad I scrap! I am so thankful someone introduced me into the world of scrapbooking 11 years ago. I completely enjoy being able to preserve the memories of my family and watch how our lives have changed through the years. Remember the photo from yesterday? I giggled when my daughter came out in all her princess garb and knew this would be such a fun page to create as it captured her personality to a tee! Sweet and sassy!

Most of you know I love to trend watch in the scrapbooking industry and one thing I've noticed lately is the close proximity of the photo and embellishments. Almost leaving a blank canvas around the outer part of the page. You notice this more when you are scrapbooking on a 12x12 layout vice the 8.5x11. More room obviously on the 12x12.

This particular layout I decided to use just one photo as it really told my story. I also scrapped this layout on a 8.5x11 piece of cardstock. I love this size. So quick and simple. And boy I can't wait until you can see all these new Sell-A-Bration sets. You are going to just squeal with delight when you see how awesome these stamps are! Whoo Hoo for Stampin' Up!

Products used for this page: All products Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted. Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White. Stamps: So Very (Sell-A-Bration 2007 available Jan. 1st). Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Rich Regal Brads, 1" Circle punch, Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kit (hostess level 1), On Board Accents, Hodgepodge Hardware.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings! Have a question? Just post a comment!!

It's all in a title, right?

Some of you may be wondering why I chose my blog title Stamping by the Sea when soon I will be stamping in the mountains! Well, 3.5 years ago when I joined Stampin' Up! I came up with my group name Stampers by the Sea. ***BTW, I do have the most talented group of women in my downline!*** Since my husband has ALWAYS had us stationed by the sea, I thought it was a catchy and appropriate name for my group. Then he came home four months ago to tell me we would be moving to Colorado Springs, Co. NO SEA! Just MOUNTAINS! My roots are near the sea, so I thought what better way than to keep my mind refreshed with the words SEA! Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to the beauty of Colorado. I'm not so sure this southern girl is looking forward to being snow bound, but I guess you never know. This could lead to an over abundance of stamping if I am snowed in. As long as I have my family, stamps and a hot cup of Starbucks, I will be fine.

Now, off to scrappin' and stampin'! My life is still chaotic, but I need a little piece of creativity in it today. I feel the urge to scrap a fun page. I thought I would start with the picture above. Nothing is better than watching your daughter get all dolled up. When I captured this moment, I had a few ideas up my sleeve already on how to make the most of this picture. Stay tuned. Tonight, you will see what became of this picture!

Ah Ha Moment!

With all the chaos in my life, I figured I would add a little more. I recently had what Oprah calls the "ah ha moment!" I have pondered for a few weeks about starting a blog so that I could keep up with so many family, friends and amazing customers. I needed an outlet to inspire others to keep their creative juices flowing. A way to keep the ink and stamps in hand. The paper cutter moving back and forth. AH HA! I think this is it!

I hope by posting here it will inspire you to visit and learn as I show you a few of my favorite projects and tutorials. All I ask is that you bare with me throughout the move process and shortly you will see daily postings of inspiration!

Here is one of the latest projects from my last stamp club. Let me just say, I LOVE Rubbah! It always amazes me just what can be done with a piece of paper and a stamp. Here I took a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 and scored at the 2", 4", 6"and 8" mark. Then I turned my paper and scored at the 2" mark. I took the Jumbo Snowflake Roller with bashful blue ink and rolled the entire piece. Already it's looking so purty! Once I have the entire sheet rolled, I used my 1 1/4 inch circle punch and punched a circle in the middle of one of the scored halves. Now I put the box together. Where you scored the 2" across on the 8 1/2" side, take your paper snips and cut to the scored area. You will be left with a small flap that you will need to cut. Take all your scored areas and fold. Place your snail/mono adhesive on the ends of the box and put it together. I sponged the edges with bashful blue. Sponging always makes a project more finished if you ask me. Next, I took the snowflake from Stampin' Up!'s Perinneal Favorites stamp set and inked it with White Stazon. I stamped the snowflake on a window sheet and then placed inside the box to cover the punched circle. I punched each side of the box with the Stampin' Up! horizontal punch and placed grograin ribbon on each side for handles. These cute little boxes are perfect for housing small gifts or candies for gifts.