Spellbinders Design Team 2009-2010

I really wanted to share this card with you today, tell you the story behind it, and share with you the inspiration I had when creating it. This is the card I made especially for my final submission project for the 2009-2010 Spellbinders Design Team. Sadly, I did not make the final design team, but I was selected to do something fun for Spellbinders over this next year instead. I can't really say much . . . I don't really know much. All I know is that it has something to do with their blog, and being a part of the guest blogger feature they are formulating. I will receive some dies from Spellbinders that I can create something with that they will share on their blog along with a little bit about me. Although I am still disappointed I didn't make the Design Team, I'm very honored to have been one of the 24 finalists, and to have an opportunity to have my work featured on their website!

I'm just loving these Spellbinder dies. I really like how they are so easy to use and how you can emboss with them to get a real finished look. I also love how easy they are to store and transport to all my stamping retreats and events . . . no more punches to lug around.

Now I would like to share the inspiration I had when creating this card. The day I made it was a very sad day . . . it was the birthday of my sweet little God Puppy Sophie. Sophie was a little black tea cup toy poodle who would have been celebrating her fourth birthday that very day. Tragically, Sophie passed away this past fall of a congenital heart defect. Sweet little Sophie changed my life the day I met her. We never had pets as I was growing up and I was never a dog person before . . . but that sweet little black puppy with all her love and kisses and her gentle soul made me fall in love with her instantly and I knew at that very moment that I needed a Sophie in my life. Had it not been for Sophie . . . I would have never known the love of a puppy and would have never been blessed with my sweet little Willow . . . whom you all know I love and adore! So this card was made in Sophie's honor because every time I think of her . . . I think of a sweet little butterfly flying off to the heavens and I will love her always. Rest in peace sweet little Sophie Girl . . . you will forever be loved and missed by me and your God Sister Willow.

Thank you so much for stopping by. If you have a story about a special puppy in your life, please feel free to share it.

I will be back soon with more projects, a Spellbinders prize, and a lot more fun stuff.

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi

SUPPLIES:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
Patterned paper: (Porcelain collection) Basic Grey
Rubber stamp: (Daisy) Sugar Nellie Stamps
Acrylic stamp: (Love Always from All Occasion collection) Hero Arts
Dye Ink: (Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo black) Memento
Color medium: Copic Markers
Accents: (Porcelain collection glazed brads) Basic Grey; (Crystals) Swarovski and Making Memories
Fibers: (Deep Straw satin ribbon) Yours Truly from Archivers; (Green vintage ribbon) Making Memories
Adhesive: (Stampin’ Dimensionals) Stampin’ Up!; (2 way glue) Zig Memory System; (Dot 'n' Roller Adhesive) Kokuyo
Dies: (Butterfly Reflections, Classic Scalloped Heart, and Labels One) Spellbinders
Punches: (Large Oval punch and Ticket punch) Stampin’ Up!
Tools: (die cut machine) Cuttlebug, (embossing mat) Spllbinders
Other: (Gelly Roll pen) Sakura

Puppies, Kittens, Spellbinders, and Blog Candy Winner!

Hello to all my very dear stamping, scrapping, cardmaking, and papercrafting friends. It is so good to be back at my blog again . . . reconnecting with lost friends . . . checking out all the fabulous new projects my dear friends are posting on their blogs . . . and shopping online for some of the wonderful new products that are available out there.

I just have to say this . . . I am so overwhelmed with the beautiful comments left on my "Basket of Basic Grey Bling Blog Candy" post. These beautiful women never cease to amaze me. One of our fellow crafters is a little down on her luck right now . . . and all these women have decided that it is more important to give than to receive. Cheryl, I am so terribly sorry about the loss of your sweet little Abby. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband during these hard economic times. I pray that he will find work soon and you will be able to get yourselves settled in again very very soon. I think it was unanimous that you should receive the basket of goodies. Please send me an e-mail with an address where I might send your basket to you. I know it's not much . . . and it doesn't even begin to take away the pain of the loss of your sweet little puppy, but please know that it was given out of love and friendship from your stamping sisters.

I thought today would be a good day to post this scrapbook page I made especially for the Spellbinders 2009 Design Team Contest. This is one of the four projects I made that landed me in the finals. You have already seen the "stamped" project I made . . . the journal, and now I would like to show you my "page layout". Everyone that knows me knows that I am not a scrapbooker. You can only scrap your dog and your cat so many times. I do scrapbook for other people at times, and I have done a heritage book or two for the relatives, but I typically tend to make cards and "stuff" I can sell at the boutiques and craft shows. So when I saw that I needed to submit a page layout . . . I got a little nervous at first . . . and then ended up having the time of my life on this page. Everyone that knows me knows how much I love animals . . . so I found it only fitting that I use this picture of the beautiful little "Tabby" as my inspiration. Tabby loves to sit in the garden and watch the butterflies and the birds . . . so this special little page is in honor of sweet Tabby with the beautiful green eyes and the beautiful white wiskers and ear tufts.

I made my special page using Crate Paper's Mia collection. I cut the curvy pieces free hand and laid it all together to fit just right. The scalloped strips were cut with my good ol' fashioned Fiskars scalloped scissors and laid underneath the curvy pieces. The beautiful butterfly is Technique Tuesday's Boho Butterfly stamped on Mia dp and cut out and mounted with a dimensional to give it the look of flight. The Tabby letters are from Wilma by Basic Grey. I used Versa Magic ink to cover them. The brown butterfly and brown scallopy image behind Tabby's picture were made using rub ons from the Mia collection. The pewter brads are from Making Memories. I have a special tip for using brads on your projects. I hate to punch holes in my projects, and how do you mount a brad on a wooden frame since you can't punch a hole in wood? I use a small pair of needle nose pliers and bend the stem of the brad back and forth a bunch of times until it breaks off. Repeat with the second brad stem. And then I use a large clear glue dot, cut it in half, mold it into the brad, and adhere it to my project. It sits down tight on your project, doesn't move around in a punched hole, and you don't have any unsightly punch marks on your project. Give it a try sometime and let me know how you like it. I sure do use a lot more embellishments with this method. I should have invented nailheads (brads without stems) . . . I could have made a fortune. They are just now coming out, and basically I have been making my own nailheads with brads for years.

Thank you again for stopping by and for your continued support in my work as I continue to learn and grow in this wonderful world of papercrafting.

Big stamping hugs to everyone!!!

~Pegi

Basket of Basic Grey Bling Blog Candy!

I dare ya to say that five times!!! I have been craving candy all day, chocolate candy, so I decided to make up a little basket of "blog candy" to get my mind off the other kind. No occasion really . . . I just decided that it was time to have a little fun here at Bella Willow and see what all of my dear stamping, cardmaking, scrapbooking, altering, and papercrafting friends are up to these days. I took a long break from blogging due to a very hectic work schedule, but I am back now and I hope you will still come and visit once in a while, and say hello.

You all know what I have been up to . . . working, taking care of my sweet Willow and Isabella, stamping with my friends, and just enjoying life. So come on over to Bella Willow and tell me what you have been up to. Tell me about your latest paper crafting project, achievement, favorite stamp set, or just say hi and tell me what you would like to see more of here at Bella Willow. If you have a favorite place to shop that you would like to tell everyone about, or you own a company, let me know and I will add it to my recommended shopping list. If you have a blog that you would like us to know about, let me know and I will add it to the Blogs list.

So don't be shy . . . leave a message for a chance to win this most fabulous basket of Basic Grey bling blog candy. This cute little wire basket is full of all kinds of goodies for your stamping and papercrafting enjoyment. You will receive a stamp set from Rhonna Farrar, a spool of ribbon, a little book to embellish, a book from Kaisercraft, some bling, some brads from Making Memories, and . . . . drum roll please . . . a brand new 6 x 6 pad of paper from Basic Grey in the much anticipated Porcelain line. It is absolutely gorgeous. Archiver's just got it in a few days ago and I bought two so I could share one.

I will be randomly picking a name on Wednesday evening and announcing the winner. Good luck everyone!!!

Thank you for stopping by and thanks for your posts.

Big stamping hugs.

~ Pegi

Sugared Shadow Box

Hello my dear friends! Just a very quick post here this evening to say hello and show you this little shadow box I made for a dear friend who is having a baby girl in a few months. How many of you know that Basic Grey is my favorite paper line? I fell in love with Basic Grey a few years ago and have been hooked ever since. I just love how it has that vintage shabby look and how all the patterns coordinate so well. Any quilters out there? Basic Grey's paper reminds me of fabric you could make a quilt with . . . which reminds me . . . they do make fabric now and the Sultry line is due out very very soon. Right now I am just counting the days until my Porcelain 6 x 6 paper pads arrive from Embellish It! and waiting anxiously for the release of the beautiful line Wisteria.

Speaking of Embellish It! . . . I ordered my paper pads very late last night . . . and they were already shipped today. Such great service, and I will definitely order from them again.

Now let me tell you about my little Sugared Shadow Box. If you click on the photograph, you can see the detail and read the verse a little easier. Anyway, I was snooping around at my local Goodwill store where you can find the best picture frames, little boxes, and containers to alter. I found this little shadow box that had some circa 1980 sea shore stuff inside and I knew right away that with a little tearing apart and cleaning up and I could make it totally new. So . . . I cleaned it up really good and started with a naked empty shadow box. I then used the pink paper from the Sugared line and my ATG gun and adhered it to the front, top, sides, and bottom of the frame, sanded it down with one of those big black emery boards, and then chalk inked the sides. I set that aside and made a square card that would fit perfectly inside the shadow box . . . and there you have it . . . a handmade altered baby gift that my friend can either hang on the wall or set on a shelf in her sweet little baby girl's nursery.

Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope you are all having a good week.

Big stamping hugs.

~ Pegi

Supplies:
Shadow Box from the Goodwill
Designer paper from the Basic Grey Sugared line (6 x 6 pad)
Rub-ons from the Basic Grey Sugared line
Brads are Basic Grey Sugared Glazed Brads
Pink Swarovski Crystals

Spellbinders and Fancy Pants

Many of my friends and family have encouraged me to take my paper crafting to the next level this year, and have suggested that I try out for a design team, sell my items on Etsy, try to get my papercrafting projects in some of the magazines, and of course to blog more so they know what's going on with me.

My Etsy site is up and running (I just need to finish adding all my new creations that I have been working on), my blog has been redesigned thanks to the fabulous work of Stewart Goodwin of Goodwin Media, and I was blessed to have one of my cards published in Ready, Set, Create magazine.

It doesn't get any better than this I thought . . . and then came the call for the Spellbinders 2009 Design Team. Oh my gosh . . . you know how it is when you go blog visiting and you fall in love with the stamp one of your fellow papercrafters used on her card and you just gotta have it . . . well that is how I felt when I saw the notice for the Design Team. I love Spellbinders and especially love all the new fabulous products they are putting out.

So . . . to make a long story short . . . I made four items especially for the competition, and I just found out today that 24 very talened paper crafter extrordinaires were chosen to move on to the finals . . . and I'm one of them! Stacey Caron who is the owner of Spellbinders called us all "Paper Crafter Extrordinaires". Wow . . . I love it!!!!

I want to thank Spellbinders for this most awesome opportunity, and I want to wish the 23 other amazing women who were chosen good luck! The names of the finalists are published on the Spellbinders website and the competition is stiff. There are some fabulous women on that list and I am so honored to be among them.

I have one more design challenge to submit for the final round and then the winners will be announced on February 25th. I want to thank my dear friends Tami and Judy for encouraging me to try out for this most prestigious design team. My final project will be in your honor.

Okay . . . so on to today's featured project . . . my Spellbinders Fancy Pants journal. I've been making journals for the craft shows and boutiques for the past few years, and realized that I've never made one for me. I never make anything for myself . . . so this journal was made especially for me and the goals that I have set for myself for the year.

I used Fancy Pants paper for the entire journal. The fun colorful wording on the front of the journal was part of the paper collection. I love using tabs on things and have always wanted to make tabs on one of my journals. Did you know that those tabs are really the Spellbinders Labels One dies cut in half? I love it. I have seen the Labels One die stamped on a lot, but I loved the versatility of the die by being able to cut it in half and make a label out of it. I then thought of five categories I would like for my journal and hand stamped the words with an alphabet set by Hero Arts. Instead of chalk inking the edges of the journal like I usually do . . . I opted for a more raggedy look and distressed everything with one of those big fat black emery boards for your fingernails. I finished it off with fat red ribbon and used the very best buttons from my button stash to put the finishing touches on. This was one of the projects I submitted to Spellbinders for the design competition.

Thank you again to all my dear friends and family for all your encouragement and support as I continue to grow as a "Paper Crafter Extrordinaire" and big hugs to all my other dear Paper Crafter Extrordinaires who continue to inspire and amaze me.

Big stamping hugs

~ Pegi

Supplies:
Composition Journal from Staples (Grid paper)
Fancy Pants paper from The Daily Grind line ("Chalkboard" for the journal, "Notebook Doodles" for the 2" band, "Cards" for the saying, and an 8 x 8 paper pack for the tabs)
Spellbinders Labels One Dies
Hero Arts Alphabet Stamp Set
Ribbon from Archivers
Buttons by Foo Fa La
Black Ink from Momento

Bittersweet Valentine's Day

Leave it to Basic Grey to come up with yet another beautiful line of paper just in time for my favorite card making holiday. Bittersweet is the name of this latest creation from Basic Grey. The rich fabulous shades of reds, pinks, browns, and hints of lavender are used in beautiful patterns of stripes, big florals, mini florals, dots, and swirls that give it that famous funky vintage shabby Basic Grey look. I prefer the 6 x 6 pads of paper because the patterns are shrunk down and perfect for cardmaking and altering items.

At the suggestion of many of my dear friends and family, I decided that I would like to try and get one of my cards published this year. I am very excited to let you know that I submitted one of my Valentine's for publication in Ready Set Create magazine, and it was chosen for the February/March issue. Ready Set Create is a beautiful online magazine and the February/March issue will be out soon and has more than 60 cards in it. I am so honored that they chose my card and I can't wait to see the magazine.

Thank you everyone for coming back to BellaWillow after my long absence. It was so nice to read all your comments and doggie stories. Judy was the winner with her cute little poodle story and has won the card. Please send me your snail mail Judy and I will get that out to you.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon with some new creations.

~ Pegi

Bella Willow Got A Makeover!!!

Hello to all my dear friends and family. It was quite the busy year for me in 2008, which left no time for some of the fun things in life . . . like stamping and blogging . . . but after so many requests from all my dear wonderful stamping friends, co-workers, customers, and family . . . I'm back! And . . . with a brand new look! BellaWillow got a new blog banner and some other fun stuff and we are loving it! I hope you like the new look.

This whole great adventure started after my cards were featured in a special Valentine's Day issue in my local newspaper. I then had a very successful 2008 craft show and boutique season. I sold a lot of cards, journals, picture frames, and altered items at three craft shows in my area and I sold over 200 items at the Holly House Boutique which went for three weekends during the months of November and December. That was a lot of fun. A lot of my friends and family kept asking me to send them pictures of what I had made. I have to tell you though . . . it was such a busy year for me . . . there was no time for picture taking. At one point during the year I was working 60-70 hours a week at the bank . . . and trying to find time to keep up with my crafting, taking care of sweet Willow and Izzy, and cleaning my house. I'll let you in on a little secret . . . my house is still kind of messy . . . but we're getting there! Oh yeh . . . . I had a horrible bronchitis/pneumonia during the months of October, November, and December, all while I was trying to make things for the boutique. After three rounds of antibiotics . . . I am just now getting over this horrible cough.

And then when I didn't think crafting could get any better, and after many special orders throughout the holiday season, I decided to create my own Etsy site so I could sell my crafts year round. So . . . after much research as to what all I was missing . . . an Etsy banner, business cards, a new matching look for my blog, a ditigal signature, and some other fun graphics . . . Stewart Goodwin of Goodwin Media designed all these beautiful new things for me. I still can't figure out how to get the digital signature, watermark, and cute "Supplies" graphic to work, but hopefully someone out there in blog land will come to my rescue . . . hint . . . hint!

Stewart Goodwin was awesome to work with. I had a vision of what I wanted, and he totally gave us all that and more when he designed Bella Willow's new look and all the accessories that go with it. He has designed websites for many famous clients including Donna Downey and Rhonna Farrar. Thank you Stewart!!

So here is my featured card for today. I made this card for all my dog loving friends using a stamp from Stamping Bella and coloring it in with my Copic markers. The paper is from DCWV and the ribbon is from American Crafts.

I would love to give this card away to one of my dear blog readers. So leave me a comment about your favorite dog, or a cute little dog story, or just a comment on how to use my digital signature and blog supplies graphic, and I will randomly draw a name on Monday, January 12, 2009 and send someone out there the little doggie card.

It's great to be back, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Big stamping hugs!

Pegi

"Hey Sugar" Picture Frame and Matching Card

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. Thank you everyone for all the beautiful e mails congratulating me on being featured in the "This Week" newspapers. Kara Hildreth did an absolutely outstanding job of putting together such a great piece. Thank you Kara for the fun experience and the beautiful story featuring me and my cards. I can't wait to send a copy to my Grandma who just had her 101st birthday this past Saturday.

I am starting to branch out from my normal cards and journls into a little "home decor". Lori from My Eyes . . . My Heart has asked me to alter a few home decor items to sell in her beautiful store.

When Lori first asked me to design some "altered items" for her store, I had no idea what I was going to make, but I knew I wanted something really special that she would be proud to show off to her customers.

I actually went to my local Goodwill store and found many many fun wooden frames and little boxes that I thought would look great with a little paper, ribbons, rub-ons, buttons, etc. to try and create a work of art that someone may enjoy displaying in their home.

My first project was designed using a flat wooden frame that I put paper on and then added rub-ons and finished off with a chipboard ornament. The paper is from the Hey Sugar line designed by Cosmo Cricket, and the ornament is from their Buck Naked chipboard collection. I finished the frame with some brown rub-ons and then inked the edges with Sahara Sand Versa Magic chalk ink. I also made a matching card using all the same Cosmo Cricket products.

I hope you are all having a great week, and I will be back again this week to share some more fun projects I have been working on.

Big stamping hugs.

~ Pegi

For You!!!

Hello to all my dear friends, family, co-workers, and especially my stamping sisters. I want to thank you all for your e mails wondering where the heck I am, and for your continued support as I continue to settle into my job at the bank. I am absolutely loving my job and business is really starting to pick up for me. It cuts into my stamping time though . . . and my time with Willow and Isabella . . . but I'm learning to deal with that. Even Willow is really learning to entertain herself and of course Isabella is content to just be snoozing somewhere out of the puppy's way.

I have so many wonderful things to share with you all. The little store that I used to teach at in Farmington sadly went out of business, but a new and even better store opened up in it's place. The name of the store is My Eyes . . . My Heart . . . The owner's name is Lori Brausen and she is absolutely awesome!!! She contacted me right before she opened up her store and asked if I would like to sell some of my cards and altered items, as well as teach again. I felt so honored and was very excited to accept. Lori is not only getting a lot of new merchandise for the scrapbookers, but she is going out of her way to make us cardmarkers happy too. She got a whole new shipment of Technique Tuesday stamp sets in and a lot of new paper and embellishments. She carries different iventory than Archivers, so it is fun to be able to shop at both stores. If you live anywhere near Farmington, please go and check out Lori's beautiful store.

Okay . . . now some even more wonderful news. I was contacted by a reporter for the This Week newspaper who wanted to do a feature story on me and my cardmaking. They are putting together a special Valentine's edition and wanted to feature me as an artist of the week. I don't consider myself an artist by any means, and I was so honored that they even thought my work was worthy of putting in a newspaper. So they came and took a lot of pictures of my cards . . . Valentines especially . . . and sat down and interviewed me. I had never done anything like that ever and although I was a little nervous at first, I had such a nice time. The reporter was awesome and my story will be in the newspaper this weekend. I will have to let you all know how it turns out.

The card I am featuring today was made for my fabulous boss for her birthday. Since her birthday is so close to Valentine's Day, I decided to use that wonderful new Basic Grey Two Scoops paper that I recently picked up at Archivers. I also inked up my new Stampin' Up! One of a Kind stamp set for this card. The ribbon is from American Crafts and the brads are from Basic Grey.

Thank you for stopping by today and I promise I won't be a stranger. I have been working on some wonderful projects, and I am very excited to share them with you.

Also, I want to share a picture of my sweet little Willow with you. She recently discovered a new spot to hang out . . . the wicker chair in the loft. She thinks she is a big girl now and very proud of the fact that she can jump up into the chair just like "Kitty".

Thank you everyone for stopping by!

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi and Willow

Thank You To My Secret Santa!

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. Life has been hectic, as usual, and it seems my stamping and blogging has had to be put aside for awhile as I continue to settle into my new position at the bank. I am still loving my job, although I do missing stamping and blogging and working from home. I miss spending time with my sweet little Willow but she is always waiting at the top of the steps for me . . . tail just a wigglin' . . . when I get home from a long day of work.

Now I have to tell you all about this awesome Ten Days of Christmas we have going on at work right now. For the past nine days I have been receiving special surprise "treats" everyday in my office from my Secret Santa. On the tenth day I will receive my gift and Santa's true identity shall finally be revealed. Whoever has my name is certainly spoiling me. I have received a lot of chocolates, cookies, chocolate covered peanuts, Frescas, Caribou gift cards, chap stick, and this Chatterbox designer paper. Hey . . . how did they know I can't resist some great designer paper??? LOL . . . I guess they all know I'm a card maker.

So for this card I decided to make it a thank you card for my awesome Secret Santa. I used the beautiful Chatterbox designer paper and I dug out my SU Delight In Life stamp set because I thought the flowers would match the paper perfectly. I loved the rich chocolate chip and blues and greens in this beautiful paper and tried to coordinate my ribbons to bring out that beautiful brown in the paper.

I also wanted to show you some pictures I took last weekend when my sweet little Willow had a sleepover with her best friend Izzy. Look how cute these two are together. Don't let that cuteness fool you though . . . those little girls were wild!!! They love to play together. I can't believe I could get them to sit still long enough for these pictures. Look at those little cuties!!!

I hope everyone is having a great week and getting excited for Christmas. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon!

Big hugs!!!

~ Pegi

Life Is So Sweet

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend and that all is well with you and your families as you prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.

I am so excited to report that Kristina, Paris, and I had a great Saturday at the Christina Huddleston Elementary School Craft Show. I want to thank everyone who came and bought my cards, journals, picture frames, and altered items. Big thanks go out to Amy, Tami, RuthAnn, Lisa, Sonya, and Kim for coming to visit us. We sure did have a fun day and I can't wait until we can do it again. Craft shows are so much fun.

This is one of the cards I made at my stamping retreat two weeks ago. The image is stamped using my Words We Love set from Technique Tuesday. I love these stamps. The images stamp so nice and clean. The designer paper is new from Cosmo Cricket, and the ribbon and crystals are from Archivers.

And now a couple of pictures of my booth at the craft show. I especially want to thank Paris' husband Brian for making that awesome chicken wire tri-fold frame that held 100 of my handmade cards. I also want to thank my dear sweet friend Paris for tying those cute little ribbons on all 100 of those clothespins . . . and for dragging in all the tables and the table cloths for me to use for my booth. I also want to thank my dear sweet friend Kristina for the beautiful little Department 56 Good Luck Charm she gave me at the craft show . . . it brought me good luck . . . and for hanging all 100 of my cards on that frame. Life is so sweet, and good friends make it all that much sweeter!

Big stamping hugs to everyone!

~ Pegi

I Love These Little Guys!!!

Who can't resist a cute little penguin? These two cute little guys are all ready for winter in their hats and scarves. I made these cards last weekend at my stamping retreat. The funny thing about these two cards . . . no stamping . . . they're rub ons. Who says you can't drive 2 1/2 hours to a stamping retreat and not stamp? Just kidding . . . I got plenty of stamping done too.

The paper, rub on penguins, and rub on sentiments are all from SEI. The ribbon is from Stampin' Up! and Creative Impressions. Those cute little red dots . . . Cloud 9 rain dots. They come in a lot of colors and they even have little snowflakes out right now. They are such a nice alternative to brads because they just stick right on your card.

So the big Christina Huddleston Elementary School Craft Fair in Lakeville, MN is tomorrow. If you live in the area, please stop by and say hello. I will be there with my dearest stamping friends Paris and Kristina and we would love to see you. Paris' husband was so awesome to make me a chicken wire tri fold wooden frame to set on the floor and Paris (bless her heart) made clothespins with ribbons on them to display my cards and frames. I will take lots of pictures of the craft show to show everyone. I can't wait!!! We are going to have so much fun . . . if I get some sleep tonight. I keep looking at my pile of to do things and keep wanting to make more things for the show. I better call it a day on that and try to get to bed so I am refresed for tomorrow. There will always be another craft show.

I hope everyone has fantastic plans for the weekend and I can't wait to share my craft show experience with you.

Big stamping hugs!!!

~ Pegi

To All My True Friends

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. I hope all is well with you and your families as you begin to prepare for the busy holiday season. Life has been good for me . . . hectic as usual . . . but good. I just went on my first ever stamping retreat last weekend and had such a wonderful, peaceful, productive weekend. My dear friend Paris Otremba from Inky Art organized it and she was the perfect hostess for our fun-filled weekend.

I had so much fun stamping and getting to know all the wonderful ladies that were there. We had so much fun talking, laughing, eating, and sharing funny stories with each other as we stamped well into the early morning hours.

I was on a mission to finish my things for the big craft show this weekend, and am very happy to report that I am just about where I wanted to be with having enough items to take to the show. I will have a lot of cards, small journals, large journals, altered picture frames, and a few altered items at the show. I hope they sell. You just never know with things like this. I will take lots of pictures of our booth and will give you all the report next week.

The card I made in this picture is my first time of using my Stampin' Up! True Friend set. The card base is SU's Old Olive, the designer paper is from Fancy Pants, the ribbon is from Creative Impressions, and I used various punches from SU to create the layered look for the sentement.

Tomorrow night I am going to a high school production of High School Musical and then Saturday we are off to the craft show. On Sunday I will be making 12 invitations for the company holiday party and finishing my ATC's for Taylor's swap. Big weekend with lot's of fun stuff planned.

Thanks again for stopping by and I will post more pictures soon.

~ Pegi

Infuse Gift Set

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. It has been a very busy week as I continue to settle into my new job, get ready for my stamping retreat this weekend, and prepare for the big craft fair on Saturday, November 17th. If you live near Lakeville, Minnesota . . . please stop by Christina Huddleston Elementary School that day where my dear friends Paris from Inky Art and Kristina from Balance, as well as myself, will be selling our handmade items. We would love to meet you.

I made this gift set for the craft fair using my favorite line of paper . . . Basic Grey. This particular pattern is from the "Infuse" line. The first picture shows the 5 x 7 tin covered in the designer paper and decorated with a band around it using my new Nestabilities from Spellbinder. I was so excited to find out that Nestabilities works in the Quickutz Revolution machine. It doesn't emboss, but it does cut. I finished off the band using the flower from SU's Doodle This stamp set and the stems are from SU's Doodle That stamp set. I used my watercolor crayons to color the stems.

The second picture shows all five cards as well as the tin. I used SU's Close to Cocoa for my card bases, Basic Grey's "Infuse" paper, ribbon from May Arts, swarovski crystals, scallop rectangles from Nestabilities, and a combination of SU's Sassy Stems, Doodle This, Doodle That, and Oh So Lovely stamp sets. The third picture shows the cards a little closer up so you can see the detailing.

I want to thank you all so very much for continuing to read my blog and for all your beautiful compliments, comments, and e mails as I continue to grow and learn and improve my papercrafting and stamping skills.

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by . . . and big stamping hugs to everyone!!!

~ Pegi

Christmas Journals

Over the past few months I have had a lot of fun making little journals for my upcoming craft show on November 17th at Christina Huddleston Elementary School in Lakeville, MN. I have made well over 100 of these little journals, in a variety of different styles, and I only have 40 left. My friends, family, and co-workers have wanted to see what I have been working on and they have all been buying them. I just take the proceeds and go buy more little naked journals at Office Max and make some more. They are really fun to make and I think they make a nice little gift for friends, family, teachers, etc. Last night the ladies at my stamp club were getting a chuckle out of the fact that the naked journals cost $1.29 to start with at Office Max and by the time I put the paper and all the embellishments on them I have well exceeded the $5.00 price I am asking for them. LOL . . . No wonder people are jumping on these for five bucks. Do you think I should up my asking price at the craft show?

Here is one of the journals I designed for my Stamp Club to make at last night's monthly meeting. I used Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding designer paper for the journal and the little decoration on the front is a piece of round Bazill chipboard covered in Figgy Pudding paper and decorated with a die cut from last year's Quickutz "Holiday" set. I recently purchased the set at Archivers on sale for 75% off . . . I paid a whopping $12.48. It came with two Christmas trees, the words Happy Holidays, and an embossing folder of Season's Greetings. What a steal of a deal!!! The photo corners on the journal are also a die cut from Quickutz. I use my Revolution machine and I am happy to report that I have just found out that Nestabilities are compatable with Quickutz machines. I am going out today to buy the square scallops at Anchor Paper Express in Burnsville, MN.

Thank you everyone for stopping by today and I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. I do have a couple of questions for all of you today. So if you get a chance . . . please leave a comment. My questions are . . . "Do any of you sell your handmade items at craft shows?" "What kind of items do you sell?" "What kind of prices should I be putting on my items?"

Thank you for any advice you can give me on the craft show thing and I will talk to you all tomorrow when I will have a very special announcement to make . . . so stay tuned.

Big stamping hugs to all of you!!!!

~ Pegi

Bella Willow's Going To A Craft Show

As if my life isn't busy enough . . . I sign up for a craft show? Originally I signed up just so I could hang out for a nice leisurely day with my dear stamping friend Paris. She is always so busy with her SU business, her children, and all her other activities that I thought it would be a great way for us to have a nice fun day hanging out together. I have been to a couple of craft shows with her over the past year and it was so much fun. Paris let me bring a few of my stamped items and we put them at her table. So this time I decided to get my own table and really do it up. We also invited our dear friend Kristina so she could hang out with us and bring some of her stamped items too.

So . . . for the past month . . . I have been working on small and large journals, cards . . . lots of cards, and lots of altered items. Here are two cards I made this morning for the craft show.

The card base is from Archivers, but I'm sorry I don't know the color off hand. The designer paper and embellishments are from Paper Adventures. The ribbon is from May Arts. The stamped images are Ollie and Olivia from Stampendous and that cute little bear is from SU's Bundle of Joy. I fun flocked Ollie, Olivia, and that sweet little bear. I never seem to have any baby cards or wedding cards in my stash and I thought these might work. What do you think? Can Ollie and Olivia pass for a wedding card?

I hope everyone had a great weekend . . . and you didn't forget to set your clocks back. I will be back again this week with a lot of stuff I made for the craft show.

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi

I've Been Tagged . . .

. . . by my dear friend Kristina Lewis. In this game of tag, I am supposed to list what I was doing ten, twenty, and thirty years ago.

Ten Years Ago 1997: It has been exactly ten years ago that I bought my very own car for the first time and got my very first Minnesota driver's license. I always had access to cars, but preferred to walk, ride my bike, or take the bus. I had just moved out of the City though, and was working a lot of crazy retail hours at the Men's Wearhouse, and really needed to start driving. How many people remember when they were younger and they walked, and biked, and took the bus everywhere? Now when I go somewhere I am so short on time, or so dang tired from my hect life that I drive around the parking lot until I find the closest parking spot. How sad is that?

Twenty Years Ago 1987: I remember this year perfectly. I moved from my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska to Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 2, 1987. The Minnesota Twins had just won the World Series a couple of weeks before and the Twin Cities were still celebrating when I got here. My best friend from college and her family lived here and there were so many more job opportunities than back home, so I came. I remember when I first got here they took me out to Figlio's in Uptown and I had Calamari for the first time in my life. If they had told me it was squid when we ordered it . . . I know I would have never tried it. Thank goodness they didn't tell me and that was just the beginning of so many new and wonderful things in my life.

Thirty Years Ago 1977: OMG . . . what an awesome year!!! I graduated from Lincoln East High School in Lincoln, Nebraska that year. I went to Adventureland in Iowa with three of my high school girlfriends right after graduation and then I moved away from my parents' home and was off to go live and go to school at the University of Nebraska where my major was interior design and fashion merchandising. I met my very best friend in the whole world, Terry, and we are still friends to this day. We listened to a lot of the Bee Gee's that year and I was so in love with their little brother Andy Gibb. I even got to see him in concert that year.

It seems like everyone has already been tagged, so if you haven't been tagged already, you're it!!

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi

It's Figgy Pudding Time!!!

It's finally here . . . the long awaited newest Christmas paper from Basic Grey . . . Figgy Pudding!!! My dear friends at the Apple Valley Archivers know how much I just adore Basic Grey . . . and they always manage to call me right away when the latest line comes in so I can get my 6 x 6 pads. I just love those little pads for making cards.

So in honor of Figgy Pudding's release . . . I broke out some Christmas stamps and made this little card. The card base is SU's Chocolate Chip, the designer paper is from a 6 x 6 pad of Figgy pudding, the main stamped image is from SU's Flaky Friends, and the sentement is from Hero Arts. I used SU small brads on the corners, Bo Bunny decorative brads on the cards, SU's 5/8" chocolate chip ribbon layered with Creative Impressions organdy dotted ribbon. I paper pieced my snowmen and colored in the buttons and carrot noses with SU markers. I used glitter on the edges of my snowmen for a little "bling" as my dear friend Taylor would call it.

On another note . . . a lot of my stamping and blogging friends have asked about my new stamping room that I converted from my unused guest room into a fabulous space where I can make all the messes I want . . . and then just close the door on it. I recently added a second table so I can have stamping friends over. I try to keep the room clean in case I have friends over to stamp, but sometimes . . . like tonight . . . it gets a little out of control and takes on a life of it's own.

So without further ado . . . here is my new space . . . before my Figgy Pudding card . . . and after.

I sure did make a mess tonight . . . but had a lot of fun stamping and just hanging out. Anyone wanna come over and help me clean up?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day tomorrow!

~ Pegi

P.S. I got tagged . . . twice . . . by my dear friend Kristina Lewis . . . so I will be back tomorrow and post more about that for you.

Also . . . it appears that this little 'ol blog is fast approaching the 10,000 mark . . . and we all know what that means . . . Blog Candy!!!

Big stamping hugs!!

Life Is Good . . . And Hectic Too!!!

I am feeling like the worst blogger ever right now! Life continues to be good . . . but very hectic!! My new mortgage job is going great and all my marketing attempts are finally starting to pay off. I absolutely love my job . . . don't get me wrong . . . but I sure do miss stamping and blogging and visiting my friends' blogs and just basically working and living and enjoying life at my own pace.

Being self employed for the past three years has definitely had it's advantages. It has allowed me to have a work life and a fun life for the first time in 10 years. You can work from home in your pajamas . . . which is awesome!! You hardly spend any money on gas. Waiting for an important call from a client or an underwriter . . . no problem . . . just go clean out the cat box or do a few dishes or empty the garbages while you're waiting. Sitting there waiting for that 50 page fax to go through . . . hey . . . go into your stamp room and play a little bit. I was the "Queen of Multi-Tasking" . . . and now I'm just the "Day Late And A Dollar Short Girl"!

So . . . as time goes by . . . and I settle into my new life going outside the home to work . . . I continue to learn how to live life the way most people do ~ crazy, busy, hectic, schedules with never enough time to do the things you want. My house isn't so clean anymore, Willow misses me terribly . . . or maybe it's me that misses her . . . or maybe a little of both, and I can never find the time to stamp and blog and just relax like I used to . . . but I have to say . . . Life is good!!!

Now about my card . . . I spent last weekend at my dear friend and SU upline Paris Otremba's house for a stamping slumber party and I got to bring Willow with me. Our dear friend Kristina Lewis was there and we had so much fun. Paris challenged me to an SCS Sketch Challenge and this was the one she chose. It is Sketch Challenge 38. I made this card using Regal Rose as my card base and Fancy Pants designer paper for the card. Life Is Good is a rub on and the brads are SU's Regal Rose. It was a very simple and fun card to make. Sometimes you just have to make a simple card.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Pegi

Basic Grey Christmas Card Class

It's never too early to start making Christmas cards. I think I need to start making Christmas cards year round though so I will have enough of them when Christmas actually gets here. Here's what usually happens . . . I start making my cards in July or August with leftover paper and embellishments from the year before . . . I put them in my stash for safekeeping and wait anxiously for the new paper and embellishments to start coming out in October . . . when the paper finally gets here, I make more cards with the new paper and put those in my stash . . . I've got most of my Christmas cards already made by November 1st and I can focus on my gift shopping . . . then my non-making card friends come over to my house and start going through my cards to see what last-minute birthday, anniversary, new baby, and thank you cards they might buy from me . . . they know I love to sell my cards to them because they gush all over them and tell all their friends that "Pegi made it" . . . and then . . . they spot the stash of Christmas cards and decide that they hate the store-bought Christmas cards they had to get and want to buy a few of mine for a couple of special friends . . . oh and a cousin or two . . . and they forgot about that client . . . and the boss . . . and the neighbor down the street . . . and before you know it . . . my Christmas card stash is gone and I have to scramble at the last minute to make my Christmas cards because I didn't have the heart to say no to my dear friends . . . and . . . well . . . everybody already knows me as the day late and a dollar short girl . . . so why break tradition. And this year is going to be no different. I am still a day late and a dollar short and will probably be scrambling at the last minute to make my Christmas cards . . . it's a tradition.

One very different thing about this year is all the beautiful friends I have met from all over the world through stamping and blogging. I feel so blessed to have you all in my life. So as I continue to scramble to get all of my Christmas cards made, and beat myself up for always being a day late and a dollar short, I will manage to say a little prayer and count my blessings for all the wonderful friends that are always right on time with their friendship, love, and support. Thank you ladies!!!

Oh yeh . . . about the cards . . . I made these three cards for my October card-making classes at Memory Creek. I love teaching classes, but have found it a bit difficult to come up with something that people will be able to make. My biggest challenge is that number one . . . I can't use anything Stampin' Up! . . . and number two . . . Ann doesn't carry any stamps in her store. Okay . . . so how do you teach advanced cardmaking/stamping without any stamps? Easy . . . you either go through your stash of what you may have at home . . . you go to Archivers and purchase what you may want to use . . . or in this particular case . . . you score a really cute Stampendous Christmas Tree stamp at a garage sale for $3.00. The other two stamps I already had at home in my stash.

Have a great night everybody . . . I'm off to get started on my Christmas cards . . . and I will be back again tomorrow with a frame I made for my craft show.

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi