Ann Sandles and a late TUSAL

Wow, I can't believe that it's been so long since I updated my blog!  It sure has been a busy few weeks though!  A few weeks ago I visited my best friend Jen for a long weekend of laughs, camping and whatever we happened to feel like doing!  We even took her camper and went out to the Portland coast for a night.

Here I am at the coast with her pup who seems to think our shoes looked like fun toys!  You can see that it was very windy and we were glad we started into the wind instead of going for a long walk and having to fight the wind the whole way back! 

While traveling I worked on the strawberries in Ann Sandles.  I was able to get the border done (I left the "hats" off the tops of the strawberries) and also the house so all that is left is the A&E section.  I am thinking of making one of the dogs look like Sage since I've already strayed away from it being a true reproduction. 

And, even though I'm super late in doing so I'm still going to post my August TUSAL.  It's not too late to jump into TUSAL 2012, just go to this post in order to sign up and play along! 

I'm afraid that you won't see much change in the level of thread in the jar for next month as I haven't stitched at all since I took this picture a week ago.  Just too busy with other things I guess!

And, not that it's bad that I've been too busy, it's all been fun!  I've completed a few home improvement projects that were on my list, spent time with friends and I have my grandpa here for a visit now.  It sure is nice to have him be able to come out to visit!

The other thing that I've been busy with is Sage.  Not that it will come as a surprise to anyone but we have been super busy and our latest adventure finds us as new members of the Dog Scouts of America.  I'm sure some of you reading this may wonder what the heck that is.  Well, I will admit that I did too when I first heard about it.  I meaning earning badges with your dog?  Well, why not?  I don't have kids to do girl and boy scouts with so why not join an organization that promotes positive training and allows you to get recognition for teaching your dog new things.  Plus it is really fun!!  We've already passed 5 agility badges and last night I heard that we passed her merit badge test to become an official dog scout and add the DSA after her name.  The best part about dog scouts is spending time with other people who are into doing fun things with their dogs!  I'll post more soon about this, either here or over on my dog blog. 

So, that's what I've been up to lately!  I hope to get Ann Sandles done in the next couple weeks so I can start something new! 

 

A Start, A Finish and a late TUSAL report

Wow, I've been super busy the past few weeks and haven't had an update in awhile but I have managed to get some stitching done in between taxes, dog stuff and a couple dentist visits.  I decided to replace the old silver fillings with white ones a year ago and I finally conquered my fear of the chair and just did it.  And guess what, it wasn't that bad!  Although as I write this my bottom lip still feels a bit fat! 

Anyway, let's get onto the stitching!  At the last Sampler Guild of the Rockies meeting I started stitching our latest fundraising piece, designed by Tanya of The Scarlett House.  Here it is shown with all of the basically 12 stitches that I managed during the three hour meeting.  I guess that's a sign of just how much fun we have at our meetings because we talk and laugh the whole time and get very little stitching done!  

I did manage to finish this piece and just love the thread colors, the backing fabric and that yummy 40 count Vintage Buttercream fabric.  It's been awhile since I worked on 40 count since I've been doing so much 36 count and it's just wonderful stuff.  Makes me want to start the project I kitted up on 45 count fabric while at the Attic back in January.  But, I digress... here's the stitched piece:

Isn't it great???  It will be stitched into a pincushion with hand dyed ric rack that my friend Katrina dyed especially for this project.  There are also some cute beaded pins that coordinate with these colors.  :)

I also managed to get some stitching done on my class piece for the Sampler Guild of the Rockies Seminar in April.  The vine is done and I've started the flowers.  There are 24 flowers each outlined over one with a rice stitch center and varigated tent stitch fill.  It's going to be very pretty but I must admit that I'm ready to have the stitching done as I'm just itching to start another big sampler! 

And lastly, I missed last week's TUSAL posting so here's my TUSAL for March.  I actually took this photo on the new moon day but was too busy to get it posted so please forgive the late posting.  Of course, if you want to get in on the fun, you can read all about it on Daffycat's blog. 

Well, thanks for dropping by to see what I've been up to.  I can pretty much feel my face again so I think it's time to hit the post button and go make dinner.  Happy stitching! 

Sketch Challenge

This week I participated in a sketch challenge with my upline's group.  This card is Old Olive, Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip, a favorite color combination! 

The background is dry embossed using the Big Shot and Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder.  I cut the cardstock down to 4" x 5 1/4" and ran it through the big shot.  I then adhered it to the card base and added the ribbon. 

The rest of this is new from the Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration brochure!  The greeting is the Whimsical Words set from Sale-A-Bration (this means you can get this set free with an order of $50 in product)!

And, the felt flowers are definitely a new favorite, and definitely very me!  They are the Sweet Pea stitched felt pictured on page 32 of the Occasions mini catalog!  I adhered the flowers using dimensionals.  Super cute and easy! 

I've also found a great way to store my Sweet Pea stitched felt.  I used an empty tin from some Flower Fusion (IBC page 180) that I had used up and put my sweet pea inside.  Now I can't wait to decorate the outside of the tin!!

And, here is the original sketch that this card was based on.  If you want to join us, just design your own card, and post a link to it in the comments for this post! 

I Did It!!

I know that some of you are wondering why I am posting a picture of an empty box on my website.  Well, a few weeks ago I posted a challenge that I had set for myself and by posting it here you know that I was going to complete it!  So, today I did! 

When I started my challenge I had 11 sets in the box and during the course of the challenge I added two hostess sets that I was able to pre-order from the Fall-Winter collection as a demonstrator plus the sets that I had pre-ordered from the preview brochure!  Wow, I put a lot of sets together but now I can and will use them all!  :) 

You may also be noticing the lack of samples posted recently and that's because I've been busy wrapping up the Stampin' Up! Bermuda cruise so thank you to all of you who helped make that possible!  I've also focused my energy on stamping for the Stampin' Up! convention!  I've been asked to present at convention this year and have been stampin' for my presentation!!  Unfortunately I can't post those samples until after convention so check back in August for those.  In the meantime, I'll post some other great samples soon with new colors, new stamps and new accessories!!! 

My Personal Challenge

It's great to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and there are so many benefits!  One of the great things that I get to do is to earn FREE stamps and who doesn't like that???  Well, my problem is getting them all put together to use!  Does anyone else have this problem?  Here is my box of unmounted stamp sets - there are twelve shown here.  And, I'm here to say that my plan is to get caught up with these by the end of June and then stay caught up!  I love to stamp and love getting new sets to stamp with so I don't like seeing any in this box!  I did put one set together yesterday so I'm officially at 11 to go.  I'll post my progress over time so check back for more updates! 

If you're like me and have a problem getting to putting your stamp sets together then consider making my challenge your challenge.  If you want to join me in my quest to get all your stamps mounted then feel free to post a comment to this post, either now or when your box of unmounted stamps is put together!

And, if you need a box of unmounted stamps to put together, consider browsing the list of retiring stamps and getting the ones you can't live without!! 

Not Exactly my Favorite Card

OK, so I admit that this is not my best work.  But, I wanted to play along with my friend and downline Diane's card challenge this week and time was running out!  So, I grabed my stamps, colors and started to play.  I liked the idea of using the Wishing You the Best stamp set because the purchase of this set sends $2 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House charities and I think that's a great cause.  I also think it pairs well with the Lexicon of Love stamp set and both are retiring at the end of June! 

Maybe the color combo for this challenge didn't speak to me but this is what I came up with.  Not my best work but it's still OK.  And, not every project we stamp will turn out exactly to our liking! 

In other news, last night we had a demonstrator only swap at Diane's house and you can see photos of us stamping (and me being goofy) also on Diane's site.  Swaps are a great way to share ideas and you'll probably see some of the cards at upcoming workshops because they were all great ideas!!