We survived!

Today was the first day of school for me (with students). I was absolutely exhausted by the end of first period. My feet hurt, back hurt, throat was dry/sore from so much talking, etc. I only had five more periods to go! All in all, it went well. The kids seem pretty good and I hope to have a lot of fun with them this year. I've got some great Yearbook kids and hope things will go smoothly this year. It always takes me a while to get in the swing of things so I expect to be pooped all the time.

Sam and Maddi had their first day of college today. They have a history class together so that will be fun for them. Maddi has some online classes which will be a challenge. Life as we knew it has ended!!

I hope to get back to stamping again pretty soon. It will take a while to get some time in the evenings to do anything. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get something done.

I'm exhausted!

Today was the first day back to school and I'm exhausted!! While it was good to see everyone, it was hard to get up and get going that early. I've enjoyed having a leisure morning and doing whatever I want throughout the day. Sitting in meetings was not my idea of a fun time although they were somewhat interesting. I have another one tomorrow morning and then hopefully, I'll be able to work in my room to get it ready for Back to School Night on Wednesday. I've got a lot of work to do!

Bob and I went to the Ed Kenley Amphitheater tonight to see a GREAT band, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. This is the third time we've seen them perform in person and absolutely love them! Extremely talented, fun music, totally entertaining, funny, clean, wholesome (all returned missionaries!!)...it was GREAT!! They performed for a solid two hours and probably could have gone longer except it was after 10:30 when they finished. By the time we got to the car and home, it was 11:00. That's way past my bedtime, especially on a school night!

A fun day!

Our oldest daughter, Mallorie, works for a great photographer in Salt Lake named Drake Busath (Check out their website! They do AMAZING work!!). His wife, Liz, had an Old English Sheepdog when she was little and loved her. When she found out I got Charlie, her comment was, "I knew I loved your mom but now we're kindred spirits!" She's requested visitation rights so every couple of months, I take him out to the studio and we play. The best part is...Liz finds a photographer and they take pictures!! (The one above and the one on the right side of the page are some of the ones they took in June.)

Since I'm going back to school next week, we decided I needed to take him out and see her. So...today was the big day! Of course, Charlie decided it would be really fun to mess things up and went out "mudding" before I gave him a bath. Naturally, it takes a LOT longer when there's mud involved because his paws hold about a pound a piece!! Then there's the beard!! Gotta love a dog that loves to play!

Muddy Doggie

Pretty Dog!!

As soon as I get the pictures from Drake, I'll upload them. I'm excited!

I got an order from Stampin' Up! today. I can't wait to get working on some of the stuff! I'll post pictures as soon as I get something done.

Some recent projects

I've spent some time these past few weeks making some projects. I've really had a lot of fun and wish I could do this full time instead of having to go back to school next week! I really LOVE doing this! I hope to be able to build my business throughout this school year.

I got the idea for this first card from Angie Kennedy Juda's blog, "Chic n' Scratch." She has adorable stuff and fun videos for her tutorials. I made a ton of these cards in different colors with coordinating ribbon and bundled them in a cello bag tied with a ribbon. They're so fun to give as a quick gift.

RECIPE:
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Enjoy Every Moment
Accessories: Real Red 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

This next card is one of my favorites. I found it at the "Stampalicious" blog and just copied it--it's so crisp and clean!

RECIPE (all products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Ink: Stazon Black, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Baja Breeze, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive, Whisper White
Stamps: Window Dressing Level 3 Hostess set
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch for scallops (I'd use the new Scallop Edge punch now that it's available!), Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, blender pens

These three cards are made with the new "Flower Power Card Elements" kit available in the Fall-Winter Idea Book. I made one set according to the instructions that come with the kit but want to use my own layouts for the rest. These kits are so cool because they come with everything to make 9 cards. I love them!!

Recipe:
Ink: none
used yet--I'll add a sentiment when I give them
Paper: Flower Power Card Elements
Stamps: none yet--I'll add later
Accessories: buttons, ribbon, brads (all included in the
kit!!)

We made this card at Heidi's on Saturday at the "open house" her daughter Jill had with Convention ideas. She does such GREAT stuff--she's amazing!!

Recipe:

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP

Stamps: Wow Flowers

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1/16" circle punch, silver brad, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Hint: The cool part of this card is the white is a whole card mounted on top of a chocolate chip rectangle. The finished card is still 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" so it fits in an envelope. SUPER easy and different!)

I had a training for school last week and needed a new bag to carry my stuff in (of course!!). I saw this idea in one of the publications that Stampin' Up! sends to their demonstrators. I loved it and now my daughters want some! I can't wait to order the new Flower Fusion kit and make some in different colors.

Recipe (all products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Ink: Old Olive CRAFT, Pumpkin Pie CRAFT (this is so it will ink on fabric and will be permanent)

Paper: none

Stamps: Doodle This, Time Well Spent Level 3 Hostess Set (retired)

Accessories: Flower Fusion, Earth Elements Colored Buttons, Earth Elements Brads, Pumpkin Pie 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Rose Red 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, embroidery floss, Alene's Tacky Glue, and white canvas bag (purchased at Michaels)

Hint: I used Alene's to glue everything on--including the ribbon! It's there for the duration!!

Of course, I had to have a cute notebook to go along with the bag! It made taking notes so much easier. :)

Recipe:

Ink: none

Paper: Bali Breeze (retired)

Stamps: none

Accessories: Flower Fusion, Pumpkin Pie 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads-Circle Ice and Circle Fire, Alene's Tacky Glue, composition notebook (from WalMart)

I'll post more as I get the pictures taken. Let me know if you have any questions or need any supplies!!

MR. BROWN JUST CAME!!!!!

THEY'RE HERE!!!!

Mr. Brown just left and delivered a whole box of them!! Just minutes before that, Mr. Mailman brought me mine!!! THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! If you can't wait to get your hands on one, call or email me (stampin.mich@gmail.com) and I'll get you your own copy to drool over!! (I've already placed my first order to get stuff for club next week!!)

Happy Monday

First of all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my awesome hubby, Bob!!!!! We're finally back to only one year separating us. :) Hope you have a great day! You deserve it!!

Second, it's an exciting day for us Stampin' Up! obsessors! The new Fall/Winter catalog is beginning today and it's AMAZING!! We can start ordering at noon today and I'm trying really, really hard to keep my order to a minimum. My club is next week and I want to make sure to use lots of new products in our crafts. More on that later in the week!!


Here are some AWESOME promotions going on right now. I've been a SU demonstrator for about 3 years and I've never seen this many promotions going on at the same time in addition to the introduction of the new catalog! They are so cool!! Please call or email me if you have any questions or would like to order!!

As part of the new catalog, Stampin Up! is offering a never-been-seen-before" sale on several stamp sets. As I said before, I've NEVER seen them do this before! Get these adorable stamps at their sale price from August 11 to September 30!

Next, at Convention, they announced a great partnership with Sizzix to sell our own "Big Shot" die cut machine. I've only used these at the local craft store but I'm excited to see what it can do to enhance all the projects we can make with Stampin Up!

Stampin Up! has also branched out into a terrific new market--vinyl lettering!!! They've got some beautiful designs and will be coming out with more in a few weeks. There were previews of them at convention and I LOVE them!! (Saw them on blogs...not the real thing.) :( Can't wait to see them!

Saturday, we went to a little crafty thing at my good friend Heidi's house. Her adorable daughter and my SU upline, Jill, is here from Missouri for convention and brought back a ton of cute ideas to show us. We made three cute, quick projects and saw a lot more of her swaps and samples. I'm totally jealous I didn't get to go this year but definitely will NOT be missing out next year!! I'll upload some pictures later and show you how cute the ideas are.

The sad part of today is I only have one more week of summer vacation. It's been incredibly relaxing after all of last summer's fun (twins getting married within five weeks of each other!!!!!) but I also feel like I haven't done anything productive. I guess there's something to be said for relaxing but...I sure wish it would last longer! :(


Have a great day!

A great day!

Today was a great day! First, we went to our church and then went to hear Mallorie and Tom speak in their ward. They did such a great job and we are so proud of them!! After 4 hours of church, we came home for lunch, naps, relaxing time, and to READ!! Yes, I finally finished reading Breaking Dawn.

It's a good book but tends to go on...and on...and on sometimes! I've LOVED the series and am glad I've spent the time reading them. However...I'm also kinda glad they're done!

Tonight, all the kids came for dinner. There is NOTHING I love more than to watch the kids laugh and have fun together!! Bob and I just sit back and watch...there is NOTHING better!! We are sooooooo blessed!

WOW!

Ok, so here I go...AGAIN! I've decided to try this blog thing. I spend so much time reading them, I decided I'd better try adding my own. Unfortunately, don't expect much...I'm not too sure about it!