Last creation (for now) by my daughter

Here is the card she made for her cousin William. He is 10. Inside it says "I think you are sweet". She colored the mouse with my markers. Then she ran the background through an embossing machine. The folder has little bubbles on it. After she did she got upset and said she couldn't "put on the words", so I told her to put them inside instead. She did pretty good I think.

Again, the picture isn't the greatest, because my light source-aka the Sun- seems to be on vacation....again.

Thanks for all the comments on her first card. She is great at creating. I can't tell you how many times I ask her if something looks good or not. I often ask her when I am stuck what a card needs and she will say "A ribbon" or buttons or whatever, and can I tell you, she is right 95% of the time???? She has an eye for color.
The only thing that worries me is.....who's gonna have control of the craft table when she is say 9 or 10? There's no more room in here to add a table that's for sure! Maybe I will have to hit the lottery and get an EXTRA big room to house the craft goodies!

LOL I will have to make her her own blog also!!!!

Another card by my Daughter

This is the card that Cheyenne made for her Aunt Ginnese. We (my brother, mom and I )always tease Ginnese as she loves to wear tie dye. My Brother calls her a "throw back hippie". So she wanted to make a tie dye card for her.

So she made the background, with believe it or not, coffee filters which we watered down some paints, and she painted the filter. After it was dry, we used my new shapes die to cut it out.
Then she made a frame for that with the larger shapes die.

The frog is a stamp I have had forever, and I thought it looked kind of Hippie (a flower frog). As you can see she is still trying to color in the lines, but she didn't do too bad on this one. We stamped the sentiment and she used my oval punch and my SU Scallop punch to punch them out. The second is a close up of the filter. The teal and pinkish-purple are actually kind of glittery, but it doesn't show to well.

We tried to get a good picture, but it is raining today, so my new "light box" trick didn't work so well.

A 5 year old's perspective

My Daughter (who will be 6 in August) has definitely caught the creative bug from me. She loves to draw, and paint, and her new found love is to make cards. She wanted to make cards for her Aunt and cousins in Ohio, that she misses VERY much. She used my embossing machine, and my "Animal Stories" stamp set by Stampin' Up. I let her use my tools today, and helped her just a little with cutting. She chose all of the colors, and decided on the final layout. What do you think?

This one is for her cousin Savanna, who is 13. Now we are going to work on the rest of the cards.....

Kind and Caring Thoughts and taking Photos

So I am TRYING to learn how to take better photos of my craft items, and I found a great tutorial on a Message board that I go to frequently.

For this photo I took two pieces of white cardstock, used masking tape and taped them together on the back. Then I got this handy little easel at a craft store in the school supplies. I set it up in our bay window (much to the cats' dismay). And shot a few pictures. Then I went into my photo editing program and edited it. I think it came out pretty well don't you think?

The watermark is from a freebie download that I was directed to. Unfortunatley it isnt free anymore, but there may be some other easy ones out there to use!

I used my new "Kind And Caring Thoughts" stamp set from Stampin' Up. I also used Stampin' Up's Classic inks. All other items were things I had on hand.

I'm off to help my DD create dome cards! :)

Oops missed one...

Ok Ok I know I said I would stop the brayer cards for a while, but in my defense, this one was sitting aside drying and I forgot to post it!
So this one is using Stampin' Up's "Lovely as a Tree" set. It is a little hard to see in this picture. No sunshine today :( . The sentiment is from the "All Holidays" set from Stampin' Up.
Again I used a multicolor ink pad, and the cardstock and ribbon is from what I had on hand. The white ink is Stampin' Up's Whisper White Craft ink.

My test subjects...

So on Monday I am holding my first card class for Stampin' Up here in my home. And I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to be able to explain the card, so I called on my guinea pigs, aka Cheyenne and David to explain the card and have them make it. They did pretty well! David had a little issue with the border punch but he figured it out (didn't listen to directions!). Cheyenne also did quite well, and then asked me to make another card.

The class is being held here in my home on Monday the 20th from 6 - 7:30. I will be holding one class (for now) a month. If you purchase 9 months, you get one free, please contact me for details - we'd love to have you join us!!!! Leave a comment or email me at GRKIDDO at VERIZON dot NET.

(PS please excuse the mess!)

Merci - Last brayer card...for a little while...

Ok so this will be my last brayer card for awhile....maybe! It is just so much fun playing with it! But I am running out of labels. So I will need to get more. These labels are old, oh about 12 years or so, so the color isn't exactly blending well on it. But I will get some new ones soon!

Ok so anyway, the card...I used a multicolor ink pad. And the Image is from the Baroque Motifs stamp set by Stampin' Up! The sentiment ("merci") is not from Stampin Up. Again the ribbons and cardstock is just stuff I had on hand.

Yes it's another Brayer card!

LOL Yes I am STILL playing with my brayer! I made this card using Garden Greetings by Stampin' Up. The ink is a multicolor ink pad. Still using the cardstock, and ribbons I had on hand.

This may be my new favorite technique! But for the sake of every one's sanity, I'll make something else today! But I do have one more brayer card to post after this one! :)

Variation on Brayer card

I am still playing with my brayer! I changed it up a little. This time I used separate ink pads and tore an edge on scrap paper. Then I started using my brayer with the lightest color, and worked on out. I used So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red (retired) and Old Olive Classic Inks by Stampin' Up. The image again is from Upsy Daisy and the dots and sentiments are from Garden Greetings, which are both Stampin' Up stamp sets. Ribbon, cardstock and labels are all stuff I had on hand.
The colors are a little muted here. We couldn't get a good picture without the shadows in the sun. :(

Playing with my Brayer

I went to a make and take at a LSS store yesterday. They had a few representatives from a local stamp company there. They had some make and take cards. I had a great time playing with a brayer, and using some new markers and a die cutting system. It was LOTS of fun, but now I have the dilemma of "I NEED that"!! It's top secret what I got yesterday (can't let hubby know..Hi David!). But here is a card I made last night with my Brayer and a multicolor ink pad. I forgot I even had these stamp pads until we used them in the class yesterday!
The image is from Stampin' Up's "Upsy Daisy" and the sentiment is from SU's Garden Greetings.

I'm pretty proud of the way this one turned out! What do you think???

Have you seen my OTHER blog?

It is so flattering that I have so many followers! I love that you all think that my creations are worthy of looking at!

But did you know I have another Blog? It is my Stampin' Up Blog. Now don't worry it isn't a sales pushing blog (although there are some sales info there) it also has some of my latest Stampin' Up Creations! Want to see? I only have a couple of followers on that blog, and I am pretty lonely.... :(

So come keep us company and Check it out at the link below:
http://ginathorntonstampinup.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there!! :)

Stampin' Up presents - Deal of the week-Week 3

This weeks deal is the Sqaure Rhinestone Brads for $6.99, that's over 30% off!
This offer includes
-approx. 80 brads per package (4 colors in 2 sizes)
-includes lilac, light blue, turquoise, and green

Hurry Limited time offer!!Available only from Monday July 13 and runs until Sunday July 19!

Altered Clothespins

I created these for Crystal for the BOAB swap, on my favorite Message board. I am really trying to get more altering projects done, and this SWAP has pushed me to do just that! I was thinking with her little girl, that she would soon be hanging lots of artwork on her fridge, and these would come in handy! I have never used this type of sealer before, note to self, next time open a window! Those fumes are something! Hopefully she likes it! I made a set of three for those big pictures, or she could hang something smaller with them also!

Top Note Christmas Card Fronts

Yeah it is here! My BigShot is here! I ordered the BigShot through Stampin' Up and it arrived today! I already had all of these cut out and glued down just waiting for the BigShot to arrive! I made these for my Christmas In July Card Front Swap that I am hosting on my favorite Message board. I wanted to go with some non-traditional colors. All of the patterned paper is from a stack of Christmas printed papers. The Sentiments is from an old Stampin' Up set called "Lots of Thoughts". The sentiment is punched out using Stampin' Up's Curly Punch and the patterned paper is cut using Stampin' Up's Top Note Die. These were so much fun to make!!!!

Stampin Up's - Stampin Write Marker Club

Have you always loved Stampin Up's markers, but just don't have the money to put out all at once to purchase them? I have a solution for you!

I am starting a new Marker Club that will include the NEW IN COLOR markers AND the Neutral markers! This club will include 4 members and last 4 months from August-November.(or whenever it is full)

Each month, each member will get One color family (12 markers) of the wonderful Stampin' Up markers. The Color Families are: Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Rich Regals, and Soft Subtles.

On the month you are "Hostess" you will receive:

Your set of 12 markers from one color family and in addition ALL of the following items:

1 set of the Neutral Markers (4)

1 set of the NEW IN Color Markers (6) These are NEW to SU's catalog!

1 Level One Hostess Stamp Set You choose

$15 in free product of your choice!

AND the Storage Case that holds the 48 Markers from the 4 color families!

And what does all of this cost you ask? The cost is just $50 per month for 4 months. You will also pay shipping from me to you for 3 of the months ($4.80 provided postage doesn't increase...again) On your Hostess month, I will pay the postage to you. That is a savings of about $10 (larger box)! All items will be sent out via Priority mail. You will be given a Delivery Confirmation number, and all packages will be insured.

If you sign up you must commit to all four months. It takes 4 people to make this work, so that everyone can get hostess credit! This is a great way to get all the markers that SU has to offer, but spreads the price out over 4 months. At the end of four months, each member will have a complete set of the 48 markers with the Storage Case, all 4 Neutral markers, all 6 of the new IN COLOR markers, a Level 1 Hostess set and $15 in FREE merchandise.

Please email me if you are interested!

GRKIDDO at Verizon dot com

Sticky note holders

I have been trying my hand at doing some altering and some other projects (besides just card making) I saw this idea on a website I frequent, and decided to try it out. This is the front, and I just noticed that I didn't have the ribbon tied for the picture. :(

Here is the inside of the first one (above). It has a pencil included. Now I have to say that I looked Online for these "golf" pencils, and it cost $7.50 for a box of them. So I had this idea....I grabbed a regular #2 pencil and I held it while David cut it with our Bypass pruners! Worked pretty good too! And I got two pencils out of the deal! It is still just a little too big for the holder though. I may have to sharpen it for a little longer! :)

After the one with the pencil was finished I kept looking at it and thinking I wish it was a little more...sturdy. So I made another (above) and left out the pencil and added a strip across the back of the pad to help hold it snug.

I made these for a swap partner...wink wink...but she may not get one of these, she may end up one that is totally different....I am going to play with it a bit still I think!

My Butterfly Bush....

This is my butterfly bush! It is located outside my house, right next to my office/craft room window. I can sit at the computer and watch it swaying in the breeze. And I love to watch all of the little butterflies coming to visit it's blooms. We get some bees as well, and also some birds. The birds often times sit on my window sill and sing me a song. David hates this bush. He complains when he has to mow the lawn. He tried "trimming it back" a couple of years ago. Poor thing. He took a hacksaw to it!!! I thought for sure it was a goner, but it's still here. I did trim it back a bit this Spring, but it is still as big as it has ever been!

Here is a close up of some of it's blooms. Oh and you should smell them!

Just to give you an idea of how big it is, Cheyenne posed next to it. And you can see, it almost reaches past the top of our house!!!!

Dang trees...

I actually took this picture by accident! I was walking back to the house after taking pictures of my Butterfly Bush and accidentally clicked this. Anyway, these are the giant trees that line my driveway. I could do without these trees. When I back up I often scrape them along the car or van. And apparently I always say stupid trees (sometimes worse, depending on my mood!) I must say it a lot though because often times the kids say it before I have the chance to! So since I was adding pictures and stories, I thought I would share this one too! :)

A story to share with you....

I wanted to share a story with you. Growing up we lived in a row home. One side of our house was attached to a long row of homes. On the other was an alley. Our backyard was an OK size, but 95% cement. We had a little garden that was on the side, that went the length of the yard. We got so many awesome tomatoes and other veggies, and entirely too many green beans (when you are a kid, I would love to have them now!) Across the back of the yard we planted watermelon. When we were still pretty young we would swing on one of those old Flexible Flyer metal swing sets. Since it was an all cement yard, when we would swing too high it would lift off of the ground! And it was AWESOME! On the side of the house outside next to the alley we had bricks. I hated this part. I can't tell you how many long hot summer days we had to sit out there and pull all of the weeds out of between the bricks. I hated pulling weeds. I STILL hate pulling weeds! It was there that I vowed I wouldn't pull weeds when I was an adult! And if you were to look in my yard now....well like I said I hate weeds. So anyway along our fence my mom planted Four O'clocks. Among the four O'clocks were Gladiolas. I loved seeing the Gladiolas blooming. To me it meant summer was actually here! I loved all of the colors that they bloomed. We also had a little flower bed not very big, but she had Columbine growing. I also loved these. I liked how they looked like little trumpets growing. She also had an Easter Lily. But it was a little confused, as it always bloomed late in the Spring Early summer.So when I started dating David, 10 years ago, he invited me to his house. Although it was February when I first visited, I could see it needed some work in the floral department. So that first spring we put in two different flower gardens in the front. The smaller one we pulled out the half dead bushes that were there. We tried a few different things. In the larger one we planted what I knew, Gladiolus and Four O'Clocks. The four O’clocks have come and gone. He didn't like how when it rained, they fell into the front lawn and he had to move them to mow. But we never saw any signs of the Gladiolus. Last year, 8 years after I planted them, we got some green leaves. This year after 9 years of them being in the flower bed, we have two plants growing. And guess what?????? 9 years after planting we have a bloom!!!!!!!!

Summer Fun Deal of the week Week 2

Stampin' Up is continuing the "Summer Fun" savings with this great deal! This week only, you can purchase the Doctor's Bag - a great bag for transporting your Big Shot or other Stampin' Supplies. The bag is on sale for $49.99 this week. That's almost a savings of $20!!! Contact me to order your's today!

Tart and Tangy Card organizer

I love how this turned out!!! I received a RAK from a participant in my Card Fronts Swap on my favorite message board (Hi Kathy), and I liked the concept of it! She had used a pocket folder to cut down and make a card organizer. I tweeked it a little to suit my needs. Instead of the folder, I used cardstock.

I made this for my friend Crystal on the my fav MB for our Box on a Budget (BOAB) swap. They posted different challenge words and for each word you had to create something. One thing was make something with your partner's favorite color combination. Crystal had said she liked red white and black (which by the way I have always liked also). So this is what I came up with. The first is the outside. Next is the inside view, then the three cards that I made, and lastly a bookmark. I used the "Tart and Tangy" set by Stampin' Up as well as the scallop border punch. I used the Real Red and Basic Black Classic Inks. Oh and the sentiment is from the really cool, new set "Teeny Tiny Wishes" (available in the new catalog) by Stampin' Up! The tassel I bought premade!

For the record I DID check with Crystal first before I posted this. I really wanted to, but at the same time I didn't want to ruin her surprise! She said it was fine to go ahead and post! I was so excited and proud last night when I had finished it, that I couldn't wait to show it!

I hope she likes it!

PS my DD is holding it for me so that we didn't get Daisy pollen on it! :)

It's official! The new 2009 Idea Book and Catalog is here!

The new Catalog is officially here! It is full of great new items, and colors! The new 2009 In Colors are absolutely delicious! There are so many great new sets, and lots of the classic items as well!!! It has everything you could need in there! From Cardstock and adhesive to scrapbooking kits, to the Big Shot! Don't take my word for it, contact me to get your very own copy!
Also new is the Fall Winter 2009 Definitley Decorative catalog! It is full of great items to decorate EVERY room in your home! From Living room, to your Kitchen, to your Children's rooms! It also gives you a choice of colors so that it gives your room that perfect YOU touch!
Stampin Up also offers Online ordering! The convience of ordering right from your computer! How great is that!!! Take a look at the catalog, and place your order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Visit my website for more Details!
http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/gina_thornton/
Happy Creating!!!!!!!

Stampin' Up Presents - Deal of the Week!

Stampin' Up is offering a deal of the week every week for the month of July!
For the week July 1st through 6th you can order the Scallop edge punch for only $10.99! That is a savings of over 30%! Don't wait order yours today!!!!
Also being offered is the Mini Starter Kit. Join Stanpin Up's family July 15th through August 31st and you can get the AMAZING starter kit! For only $85 you will receive the Fabulous NEW IN COLORS, 2 packs of cardstock, a stamp set and business supplies!!
The items that are in the kit are:
For All You Do stamp set- valued at $28.95
Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Dusty Durango Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad- valued at $5.95
Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")- valued at $7.50
In Color assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")- valued at $7.95
If you choose yo may substitute any of the sets for an equal or lesser value set!
Why should YOU become a Stampin' Up Demonstrator??? Stampin' Up offers so many great products!! From stamps to scrapbooking to embellishments and everything in between!
As a Demonstrator, you get 20% off! AND when you place your first order (over $150) in your first 45 days, you will even receive a 30% discount!! Contact me for more details!