Every season, meaning end of spring, when graduation rolls around, I need at least a half dozen graduation cards. I need a lot more on the years corresponding to my own children graduation, for all the friends. I had an idea in my mind for at least a month now, of wanting to use the Large Letter Framelits. Originally, the in my head idea, called for having an open space behind the letters, creating a window.  But when I was cruising past my stamps the other day, the Confetti Celebrations stamp caught my eye and I wanted to include that stamp set. Honestly, this stamp set. I keep coming back to it. It is not very exciting looking like some stamp sets just scream at you to buy and use them. But this stamp set has such versatility for so many occasions, I do use it quite often, and encourage you to purchase it. It is just handy to have on hand. So when I sat down to make the card, I dropped the window idea and thought, I need some DSP designer series paper for the card. But I ha

Using the new Wood Words Stamp set (available June 1st) and the new Berry Burst In Color, to create these cards. Which one do you like better - Pearls one or Ribbon one? I vote pearls. Note for future reference: Stamps: Wood Words 143925 $30 w 143928 $22 c Inks: Berry Burst 144083 $6.50 Papers: Berry Burst 144243 $8.00, Whisper White 100730 $9.00 Accessories: Not used but Wood Crate Framelits coordinates with the stamp set 143730 $30 (bundle and save 10% wood is 145315 clear is 145316, Pearls accessory 144219 $5.00 * *not a new item but new item number because Pearls have been repackaged. I keep using the bouquet stamp pictured above, quite often honestly. Even though I am not a big flower user on cards, something about that arrangement finds me reaching for it quite often right now.

You know what is so cool about these pages? A) I wasn't there B) I finished them 1 day after the event. C) they have already been sent to get printed! Badabing Badaboom! Even better, because my In-Laws were not able to attend the event either, even though they live close by, I am able to share these pages with them, via email, and then they will get the printed version soon. I am so grateful for modern technology, and the ease of using the Project Life App right from my phone. The pages are not super fancy, leaving the focus of the pages to the grad and the event. If you are still doing all your pages via traditional, physical paper, have you or would you consider trying the Project Life app for just a few simple pages? It is so easy. And at $1.99 to print and the app is usually $2.99, occasional sale and this kit is between .99 and 1.99 (not sure of current price since I already own the kit) in your phones app store under Project Life App purchasable directly in

The Open House for the brand new 2017-18 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog is next week! YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO Stampin' Up! 2017-18 Annual Catalog Open House Choose Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 5:30 - 8:30 Caribou Coffee Coon Rapids at Hansen Blvd & Gateway just off Highway 10 Thursday, June 1, 2017, 5-8, Caribou Coffee Minnetonka in Glen Lake Registration is not necessary, but if you click on the date you wish it will direct you to the registration page.  Event is FREE and open to anyone. Bring your friends!  Make & Takes * Samples * Specials * More Unable to attend and still want a catalog? Message me now to get one mailed. Friends don't let friends stamp alone. 

Are you in need of a simple birthday card? This card certainly is simple and easy. Stamps:Flower Shop 130939 $24 w 130942 $18 c, Rose Wonder 140697 $27 Inks: Elegant Eggplant Papers: Soft Sky, Whisper White Accessories: pansy punch 130698 $13, Elegant Eggplant bakers twine (retiring), Circle Punch 1/2" 119869 $6 This quick layout would work with a variety of occasions. Replace the flowers with the balloon punch, or just use simple circles of designer paper! Thanks for stopping by today. Keep being creative. Sandy

I made these 10 cards in under 25 minutes tonight, including set up and clean up time using the 3x4 card swaps below. Here is the original pos t if you want to read more. Below are what the original swaps looked like.  Including mine below. I was an overachiever and made two! lol I stuck to the same basic layout for all of them, and used up scraps of soon to be retired designer papers to finish them off. They are seriously cute all grown up. Scroll below to see the individual projects. I am really starting to like these mini swaps, at least for the time being. It does not take much to finish them up. Scroll on to see the rest. These were finished back in March. You can read about them here . Now the balloon looks like it is floating above the skies. This one makes me sigh. I love this paper pack so much. I have almost none left and would love to hoard a stack of it!  The hint of the checkerboard paper gives it a softness and sweetness, and al

Back in December I posted a call for advice or help. I was struggling with a scrapbook issue. Read about it here. I had purchased post albums and in various colors (some are still in a box in wrappers). Most of the albums were from Stampin' Up! initially but had been discontinued. I could not find post extenders that matched the size of the albums, pages were an issue and more. I did not know whether I should switch to a different album style, or just continue from this point with different albums or what to do. I ruminated on this for a month, talked to people, etc. I woke up one day and said, I am going to switch. Since they sit so prominent in our bookshelves, and really are an encyclopedia of our lives, I wanted a uniform look, like encyclopedias used to be back in the 1970's. This is what the mess looked like. I know many people have a wide variety of albums. Or maybe they sit on a shelf in a closet where it doesn't matter. It suddenly mattered to me. My fa

You are Cordially Invited Used and Retired Stamping and Scrapbooking Sale  Saturday, May 20, 2017 9-2 pm Faith Lilac Way Church  5530 42nd Avenue North, Robbinsdale MN Large sale with many vendors. Open to the public.  Bring your friends! Be sure to visit my booth!  I will have retired stamps from Stampin' Up!, designer paper, ribbon, accessories, scrapbook albums, kits, large monogram stamps and much more.

This little piggy went to cutie school! Actually 25 little piggies are off to market today. This darling pig is off to get swapped at a card exchange,  The designer papers and stamps and framelits and mesh ribbon are all new products available June 1 for you to purchase. There will be an entire stack of 6x6 paper that is double sided with various wood and woodgrain patters on them. Add that to your Wish List. And it goes with a rustic style stamp set and set of framelits that cut out a darling wood crate. You could make a whole carton of piggies just for you! Make sure you are on my mailing list so you can start purchasing right away on June 1st. And I am in love with Lemon Lime Twist as one of the new In Colors! See how it brings a pop to the background on this card. Thank you for stopping by today. ~Sandy Supplies (available for purchase June 1!!!) Save for future reference.  Stamps:  This Little Piggy • 9 rubber stamps 143919 $28.00 (wood b

 This darling card is very special to me. It contains leftover pieces of my dads hardware that were (still are) stored in my baby food jars. Here is my tutorial on shaker box cards . There is even a PDF instructional sheet you can download. Supplies: Stamps: Urban District Inks: Black Papers: Urban Underground designer paper, very vanilla cardstock, basic black cardstock, silver foil paper, pool party cardstock, Accessories: Everyday Jar framelits, Build It framelits, modern label punch, Urban Underground embellishment pack, 5/8' burlap ribbon I might just frame this card and put it over our tool bench. The tool bench my dad built in the 1960s. It is as solid as they come, but we may retire it someday. We just do not need a 6 foot surface. He did work experiments and all kinds of other things and needed a larger surface. We need better storage than a work surface. In due time, I keep telling myself. But wouldn't that be a cute idea? Frame it up and hang it above

How cute is this toolbox? It's a Needs A Ribbon original. I was inspired by some I had seen on Pinterest. I made this back in early January. It is made using the retiring Build It framelits from Stampin' Up! And the Urban Underground embellishments. I believe that is Pool Party, not Soft Sky, and Early Espresso cardstock. Along with the Copper Foil cardstock. You can see from this detail close up that I actually stamped the woodgrain, then cut each piece apart and distressed each edge and cut each piece as if it were a real 2x4.  This isn't one of these project where you would make a lot of them. I made one. It was a lot of fun and I loved how it turned out, but it did take quite a bit of time. I did cut out the two pieces for each tool twice, once in the copper foil and then stamped in black and cut out again, using the framelits It looks pretty authentic for paper tools. I aged up the copper foil using black StaZon actually. It dried quicker and eliminat

In 2016 my family traveled, a lot! We have memories recorded of each event (or at least they are in the works), but I thought something was in order to remember how much each of us traveled. My family loved remembering this way! Here is the thing about this page, notice anything missing? It is, after all, a scrapbook page. One normally mostly includes photos. This page required no photos. I could have included a picture from each trip, or something like that, but I really wanted to focus on the story, in this case, the quantity of travel, rather than any pictures. I felt it was distracting from this story. Do not be afraid to document without photos. That may well be the case, when you finally write down old Uncle Joe's old stories of the war, or when he broke his knee chopping wood. The story becomes the focus, the importance, of that page. I have been finding a lot of stories recently that I have been working on documenting, where there will be no pictures, or just stock

This folks, is my work table this week! It is a royal mess. I am working on at least 3 different swaps for later this month, upcoming classes, my new catalog open house, and I need to make some graduation cards. This is just starters. It is likely to stay a mess for a week or two. It is all for the good of the craft. And I am really enjoying playing with new stuff. If you are in the Twin Cities area, my catalog open house is on: Tuesday May 30, 2017, 5:30 - 8:30 Caribou Coffee Coon Rapids, at Gateway and Hansen Blvd Thursday, June 1, 5-8, Caribou Coffee Minnetonka in Glen Lake on Excelsior Blvd. Click on the above events to get registered. It is not necessary to register, it just helps me with planning. Otherwise, be sure to let me know if you need a catalog, we can meet up for coffee! And we have the Extravaganza on June 24th also. More on that in the coming weeks. After I made this mess, and my table is 4 feet wide by 6 feet long, I received this on Tuesday, Yes, I

Yup, no blog on Sundays! Fine day for family time, rest time or stamp time! Check back Monday. ~Sandy

My friend Jeny created this beautiful card for me to swap at OnStage last month for her. She was out of town for the event. Mint Macaron (retiring) and Crumb Cake are some of her favorite colors and color combinations. She fussy cut all 25 dancers for each card. The dresses are just edged with a coordinating marker. It is difficult to see, but she applied Wink of Stella to the dress, and just a tiny rhinestone for a pop on her hat. A perfect touch! Darling card and great use of this well loved stamp set, which will be available in the new Annual Catalog too. Supplies: Beautiful You stamp set. Thank you for stopping by today! Keep being creative, Sandy

Last Sunday, April 30th, I hosted our downline meeting, my spline Sue's downline, at my house. It was only my second time hosting a Diva Day, and my first time here. My ten foot table held 11 of us nicely and we could have had 1 more. If we had more I am sure we could have found some room. Since the event was close to Cinqo de Mayo, and I as host, get to choose a theme if I want, I chose that. It made for easy potluck planning. I made one of my family's favorite recipe, Pace Mexicorn Lasagne. You can google the recipe. It's still out there. I made a 2.5 or more batch. I figured if the Divas didn't eat it, I have 2 boys that would have zero problem finishing it off. Autumn brought margaritas. I made Fakaritas, as I called it. We had enchiladas, salsa, chips and guac and salad and such. Probably one of my favorite Diva potlucks yet. But I love all things mexican in food. We did our regular shoebox swap too. Read here . I cannot do events without making,