Wow! That was easy!

Well. I did it, as you can see. I joined the blogging craze. I'm going to begin this blog assuming that those who will read it already know me a bit; so I won't go into huge detail about me right now.

I have been thinking of starting a blog for several years. I look back and think that it would have been cool to have one while Mitch was in Iraq. It would have been a great journal. I type faster-and neater- than I write, so a blog seems like the right fit. Since this will be mostly a stamping/papercrafting blog, it would have been cool to see how my style has changed and improved over the almost three years I've been stamping.
I went to my first Stampin' Up! party almost exactly three years ago. I had never really stamped before--just a few $1.00 stamps and ink pads from Meijers and Michael's. Well, I liked to think of myself as a scrapper, since I began scrapping after I had my oldest daughter. I had been looking for something to do from home that involved scrapbooking and had been researching various companies. I went to this SU! party thinking I would only purchase the stamp scrubber and mist. Well, I got the scrubber and mist and a stamp set, Sincere Saluations, that was being sneaked peaked for the upcoming catalog. During the party, I pretty much decided I would join, so I thought this would be a good set to get. (I still LOVE this set and use it all the time!) I signed up and officially became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator on April 4th. So this blog is kind of like an anniversary present to myself. I wasn't sure I would last this long. I said I would stay with being a demo as long as I was having fun.

I made this card while on vacation in South Carolina. I took my big rolling bag with me so I could stamp during down times. I had several PIF's to stamp and a gift certificate to make, so I packed accordingly. I also knew that I would have time during naps and at night to play with my new punches.

Here's the recipe: Calendar, Hug and Wishes. Whisper White, Real Red, Taken with Teal, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou CS. Stazon Timber Brown (retired). Large and small star punches, Dazzling Diamonds.


PIF's are Pay It Forward stamp images from a thread that I'm currently addicted to over on Splitcoast. It's a great concept. It basically comes down to this: Person A posts their stamp list they are willing to stamp images of and mail off to someone. Person B sees the list and is the first to post their request for one of the stamp sets listed. If they are the first to "snag" the image, then they will receive those images in the mail. Then Person B posts their stamp list for all to see. Persons C-Z look and try to be the first to snag an image set from Person B's list. Person B will send those images chosen to Person C. And on and on it goes. It's a great way to get images of different stamp sets or stamp companies like Stamping Bella. Come on over and join the fun!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=337775

Here's a PIF image of Blooming Beautiful from the Ocassions mini. I really like this set and was fortunate to get some fabulous images!