A Touch From the Heart

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends

 Yup....that's me.....quoting a Beatles tune for my post title.  I guess I was inspired by my 19 year old son, Christopher, who just happens to love the Beatles.  I was checking out his iTunes collection, and boy, that kid has some awesome music.  I guess that explains why he loves receiving iTunes gift cards at the holidays!!!  He's a music junkie just like my dad and brother!!!

My friends mean the world to me.  My BFFs live in New York, but they're always in my heart.....no matter the number of miles between us. 

Today's Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge card celebrates those friends that hold a special place in your heart! 

My base card is Riding Hood Red.  It measures 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and then folded. 

Layer #2 is Chocolate Chip.  It measures 4" x 5 1/4". 

The two patterned paper vertical panels are made with the gorgeous Everyday Enchantment designer series paper pack.  This paper is one of the Sale-a-bration freebies, and I think it's one of the prettiest paper packs Stampin' Up! has come up with.  Each panel measures 1 7/8" x 3 7/8". 

The Chocolate Chip heart is cut with the new Heart Framelits.  I used the linked pearls to trace just inside the heart.  I love how rich and elegant this little addition makes to this card. 

The stamped heart comes from the stamp set I {heart} Hearts.  The stamp is inked with Riding Hood Red ink and stamped onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  Now, what I love best about this stamp is that I don't have to hand-cut it.  The Full Heart punch is coordinated to punch it out perfectly.  Yay!

While I was punching, I grabbed some Chocolate Chip cardstock and punched it with the Full Heart punch too!  I cut the heart in half width-wise and matted it to the back of my stamped heart.  As you can see on the card, the Crumb Cake Seam Binding bow hides the seam......which allows me to use this secret tip to make my cardmaking a heck of a lot easier!!! 

All that's left is "dotting the i" with another Basic Pearl.  I think it's the perfect way to marry the two hearts together!!! 

I think any friendship can by symbolized by a pearl.  All pearls start with something that irritates the oyster (a grain of sand).  I'm not saying that friendships start with an irritation, but friendships have their struggles along the way, right?  The pearl grows over time......just like a friendship.  And in the end, it's a truly beautiful thing!!!  Is it perfect?  Nope, a true pearl is often funny-shaped.  But, it's beautiful nonetheless......just like a friendship! 

Speaking of friendships, I just love the Stamping 411 girls.   This great group of stampers come up with the prettiest projects around!!  Let's check out what they've made this week, shall we?  I'm heading off to the Stamping 411 blog to do just that!!!

Until next time....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Card Recipe

stamps:  I {heart} Hearts
paper:  Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment (SAB)
ink:  Riding Hood Red
accessories:  Hearts Framelits, Full Heart punch, Basic Pearls, Crumb Cake Seam Binding

Leadership - Day One

I can't believe that a week ago, I was enjoying the sun and warm weather in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.  

Let me tell you a bit about my week.......

Jenn Turoff (my stamping BFF and roommate) and I arrived on Tuesday.  We ate dinner and caught up on things before getting some sleep for our first full day.

Wednesday was check-in day at Leadership.  It's the BIG day where there's the bag reveal.  We all have different ideas about what the bag is going to look like.  Are you ready to see this year's bag?

According to Stampin' Up!, this bag is made with a sneak peek fabric.  I'm guessing it's in the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalog.  I just love sneak peeks!!!  

After picking up our bags, Jenn and I headed to all the awesome product displays.  Each of the items in the Occasions Mini Catalog are highlighted with gorgeous samples made by Stampin' Up! display stampers.  

We also decided to do some sightseeing.  We ALWAYS say we're going to do it, but we never do.  This time we did!!!!  We started out by exploring The Alamo.  The Alamo sits in a park in downtown San Antonio.  I just loved checking out the flora there.  

They had the coolest trees.  I took this photo looking up into the limbs of this oak.

This is me standing by a Prickley Pear cactus.  Jenn had a Prickley Pear margarita one night, and it was delish!!!!

At the Alamo, you aren't allowed to take pictures of the displays.  You're going to have to trust me that the history in this place is amazing.  To see the artifacts in person just makes it seem all the more real.  

Jenn and I talked to a few of the workers at the Alamo and asked them where we should go for lunch.  As I had my make-n-take session at 2pm, we had to stay relatively close to the Convention Center.  

We chose to go to Casa Rio.  It's right on the Riverwalk, and you literally eat lunch next to the river and has quite a few ducks.  In fact, one duck wasn't happy that Jenn wasn't sharing her lunch and nipped her on her leg.  She wasn't happy!!!!  

I then headed to Make-n-Takes while Jenn went back to the room to take a nap!!!  There were 9 projects to make.  Stampin' Up! didn't expect us to get them all done.  I only got three done while I was there.  We received two stamp sets and all of the supplies in our packets....so we can make the rest of them at home!  Thank you Stampin' Up!

The room was full of lots of busy stampers!!!!

Of course, Make-n-takes is never complete without running into some fabulous friends.  I happened to run into my friend (and fellow Stamping 411 operator), Lee Conrey.

Lee told me that she was one of the presenters at the Share Fair.  Lee does a lot of charity work, and she wanted to share how she does that with the demonstrators in attendance.  Lee did a great job!!!!  I am so proud of her!!!

Well, I could go on about Manager's Reception, but I think I will save that for my next post.  This one is already long enough!!!!!

 

 

Sale-a-bration Starts Today!

I am so flippin' excited!  Today is THE day!!!!  It's the first day of Stampin' Up's biggest promotion of the year.  That's right......it's Sale-a-bration time!!!

Sale-a-bration has three different components.  Let me tell you about them......

1.  As a customer, for every $50 of your order (not including shipping and tax), you get to choose ONE Sale-a-bration item from the Sale-a-bration brochure for FREE.

2.  When you hostess a party, you will receive a gorgeous tote bag when your workshop sales reach $150.  When your party sales reach $400, in addition to the tote bag, you will also receive a hostess bundle containing the Fresh Vintage stamp set, Everyday Enchantment designer series paper pack and the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad pack.  Don't forget, when the party sales reach $400, you also can choose any item out of the catalog for 50% off.  If the Big Shot or the big box of markers are on your wish list, Sale-a-bration is definitely the time to have a party!!!

Now remember, all the Sale-a-bration extras are in addition to the already wonderful hostess benefits you'll already receive as shown in the hostess chart in the big catty!

3.  When you join my Stampin' Up! team during Sale-a-bration, you'll get the amazing Starter Kit for the incredible price of only $125.  The kit normally sells for $175.  The kit is customizable to your tastes and contains over $340 worth of product in it!!!  In addition, Stampin' Up! is going to sweeten the deal by letting you choose a designer series paper pack or digital download every month you place a demonstrator order (Feb 2012 through Dec 2012).  

There's never been a better time to be part of the Stampin' Up! family!!!  My team of stampers (we're called the "A Touch from the Heart Stampers") is all over the USA.  I look forward to teaching you all there is to know about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  

Click HERE to view the Sale-a-bration brochure

Happy Sale-a-bration!!!!!

Lovin' this Doily

Note:  I am pre-posting today's project as I am in San Antonio, TX with all my demonstrator friends.  Today is the last day of Leadership Conference, and tomorrow is our Regional Meeting.   I never fail to have a good time when I am stamping with my friends!

Now....onto the reason why you're visiting today........this week's Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge.

Here's this week's sketch:

I had an absolute blast with this week's sketch.  I was itchin' to play with the new Doily Sizzlit.  It amazes me how such an intricate design can be cut so easily with a few cranks of the handle of my Big Shot.  Now, since it's so intricate, there's lots of pieces to pop out of this die cut.

Here's a few tricks that have helped me along the way

1.  add a shim when cutting this Sizzlit.  For the Big Shot, your sandwich (from the bottom up) should be cutting pad, shim, Sizzlit (face up), cardstock, cutting pad.  It will be tight when you crank it through.

2.  Before you start popping out all the pieces, make sure you are standing over a garbage pail (that is, unless you want lots of confetti all over your floor or desk).

3.  after cutting out the shape, wrap the die cut around a pencil.  The pieces will start popping out on their own.

4.  use a paper piercing tool, tip of the bone folder or another pointy object to poke out

Are you itchin' to see my card?  Well, here it is..........

Let's chit chat about it.......

1.  My base card is Early Espresso.

2.  Layer #2 is a 4" x 4" square of this gorgeous flourished dsp.  It's from the Mocha Morning Specialty dsp pack.  Isn't it 'da bomb?  I sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink.

3.  Layer #3 is a 1 1/4" x 4 strip of Crumb Cake cardstock.  The edges are sponged with Soft Suede ink.  

4.  I cut the doily from Soft Suede cardstock.  I glued it to my card using my Anywhere Glue Stick.  

5.  Punch a 2 1/2" circle from Very Vanilla cardstock.  Sponge the edges with Soft Suede ink.  

6.  Let's talk about the stamp!  What I love most about this stamp is that the bird, wing and branch image are all on one stamp......and they match perfectly with the Bird Punch.  That means no stressing about getting the images on the same block and trying to line it up perfectly with the punch.  Stampin' Up! took care of all the hard work for us!  

    The image is stamped twice.....both with Early Espresso ink......on Baja Breeze and Old Olive cardstock.  The images are then punched.

7.  Using Baja Breeze ink, sponge the edges of the bird and the wing.  

8.  Glue the branch onto the card, pop the bird up on a dimensional and also the wing.  I colored in the bird's beak with a Pumpkin Pie marker.  

9.  Now, let's embellish this card.  I added a length of Early Espresso 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

10.  For the circle elements in the sketch, I chose to use buttons.  I attached them to my card using glue dots.  The center of each button is adorned with a Basic Pearl.  

I am SO excited about this card.  It came out better than I envisioned.  Playing with new toys makes me happy........when it comes out really pretty, I get downright delirious!!!

I'll leave you with the card recipe in case you want to make it for yourself.  

Don't forget to check out all the wonderful creations my friends have made on the Stamping 411 blog.   They always create the most wonderful designs!!!

Card Recipe

stamps:  Language of Friendship
paper:   Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Mocha Morning Specialty dsp
ink:  Soft Suede, Baja Breeze
accessories:  Doily Sizzlit, Neutral Buttons, Basic Pearls, Bird Punch, Pumpkin Pie marker, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

 

Tequila Sunrise

Today, I am SO excited.  You see, I am in San Antonio, TX with my stamping friends at Stampin' Up's annual Leadership Conference.  This is the event I look forward to every year.  I am taught over a series of two days how to be a better demonstrator, given new ideas to share with my customers, inspiration to give to my team members and so much more!

Now, I didn't name today's post after the margaritas I will be drinking with my roommate and Stamping BFF, Jenn Turoff!  She and I have had a rough couple of weeks, and we look forward to catching up over some fabulous Tex-Mex food and a margarita or two!

The name of the post came from the color combination used on today's card.  It's Calypso Coral and Poppy Parade.  I just love how they work together!!!!

If you've fallen in love with today's card, all of the items used to make it can be purchased from my ONLINE STORE.  Thanks so much for choosing me as your demonstrator.  

Card Recipe

stamps:  Apothecary Art
paper:  Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Whisper White
ink:  Basic Black, Calypso Coral
accessories:  Labels Framelits, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, White Gel Pen, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder 

 

Wanna SAB Sneak Peek?

Pssssttttt........I've got a secret.  Well, it's not really a secret, but it's a sneak peek of some of the FAB-U-LOUS items you can choose with your qualifying Sale-a-bration order.  

See the fun stamp set?  Well, it can be yours with a $50 order during Sale-a-bration.

Do you love that patterned paper?  Oh my word.....I do too!!!  I think it's one of the prettiest paper packs Stampin' Up! has ever come out with.    Guess what?  It can be yours with a $50 order during Sale-a-bration.

Isn't that narrow organdy ribbon luscious?  This color is Calypso Coral, but if you choose the ribbon/brad pack as your Sale-a-bration freebie, you'll also get a roll of Lucky Limeade narrow organdy ribbon and a designer brad pack too!!!  Oh, it's wonderful!!!!

Now, that I've got you all excited about Sale-a-bration, let me share the details!  

Sale-a-bration runs from January 24th through March 31st.  

For every $50 of your order, you get to choose ONE Sale-a-bration item.  There's stamp sets, paper packs, Simply Sent kits, Big Shot items, Decor Elements, embellishments and so much more!!!!  I can't post the Sale-a-bration brochure yet.....so you're going to have to trust me until January 24th!

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Happy Friday everyone!  Does the concept of Friday the 13th freak you out?  One of the best things in my life happened on the 13th day.....that would be the birth of my son, Christopher.  What a blessing that boy is!!!!  Although, at the age of 19, he's not really a boy anymore, but he's still my baby!

Well, even if the whole Friday the 13th thing freaks you out, I can guarantee that a cupcake can make it better.  Aren't they just the yummiest little things?  It's amazing how the cupcake craze has taken over.  There are little bakeries all over serving only cupcakes on their menu.  The flavors and combinations are getting wilder and wilder every day too!!!

Let's try to figure out what flavor my cupcake is!  The cake part is definitely chocolate, but the frosting can't be lemon.  I'm just thinking that's going to taste nasty when paired with chocolate.   I'm perfectly happy with a good buttercream....and that can be colored yellow.  Then all you have to do is shake on a few sprinkles, and you have perfect cupcake bliss!

What I like best about this week's Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge card is that it really is unisex.  Isn't that the best kind of card to have in your stash? 

My base card is Island Indigo.  It measures 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.

Layer #2 is patterned paper from the Twitterpated dsp pack.  I love how subdued it is.  I don't do well with busy dsp patterns.  It distracts me from the rest of the card.

Before adhering Layer #2 to the base card.  I tore a 1/2" wide strip of the Twitterpated fabric and tied it into a classic knot.  I don't use a lot of fabric, but I really like how it adds to the card.

Let's start building the focal layers.  I started with the Real Red cardstock piece.  I matted this on a 1/8" larger piece of Basic Black cardstock.  I then cut some Certainly Celery cardstock using the new Labels Framelits.  I did sponge the edges with Certainly Celery ink to add some depth.

The cupcake comes from the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set.  It's one of my treasured stamp sets.  I inked the image with Black StazOn ink and stamped it onto Whisper White cardstock.  I then dusted off my Watercolor Pencils and a blender pen to make my watercolor magic!  The sprinkles were colored with the new Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, and the flame was enhanced with of the original Dazzling Details. 

The cupcake is carefully cut out and placed onto the label using dimensionals. 

I added some Basic Rhinestones to finish off the card. 

Note:  After photographing this card, I did decide to add onto it as I felt the left side of the card needed some balance.   I grabbed my beloved (and retired) Photo Corner Punch and punched the smaller one out of Real Red cardstock.  This now sits in the upper left corner of my patterned paper layer.  I also added the sentiment (from the same stamp set) and punched it with the Large Oval punch.   I really like how these two elements finished off the card. 

Well, that's about it for this cupcake card!  I'm teaching a stamp class tonight, and one of the cards we're making is the revised version of this one.  I sure hope they like it!!!!

 

Chicken Lombardi

Oh my word!!!!  I made the MOST AMAZING chicken dish tonight, and believe it or not.......it's healthy!!!!

It's called Chicken Lombardi, and someone shared this recipe on the Weight Watcher's message boards.  

Dennis and I posted on FB how awesome this dish was, and everyone was asking for the recipe.  So, I thought I would post it here on my blog for those that are looking for something new to do with boneless chicken breasts. 

Chicken Lombardi

1 lb chicken boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp light butter
mushrooms (ewwwwww.....so I made it without)
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1/3 cup chicken broth 
1/3 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup scallions, sliced thin

- heat oven to 375 degrees

- flatten the chicken breasts so they are the same thickness

- dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixed with some seasoned salt (I adore the one from Tastefully Simple).  Shake off the excess.

- in a large saute pan, add 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.  Cook half of the chicken til golden brown (approximately 4 minutes).  Flip the chicken and cook til the other side gets golden brown.  When both sides are browned, remove the chicken and place into a ceramic baking dish.  Add the other 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil and cook the rest of the chicken as instructed above.  Place the remaining chicken in the baking dish.

- add 1 Tbsp of light butter to the saute pan and scrape up any brown bits.  If you want to add the mushrooms (ewwwwww), now is the time to saute them til they are softened.  

- add the marsala wine and chicken broth to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce for about 5 minutes.   You can add additional salt and pepper here if it tastes a little bland.  I added more seasoned salt and fresh black pepper.

- pour the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish

- in a separate bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and scallions. 

- sprinkle the cheese mixture over the chicken

- bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

 

I served this with Barilla Plus Spaghetti (with the sauce ladled on top) and whole green beans.  

If you make it, let me know what you think!!!!!  

Twitterpated

Hey everyone!  How's your week going?  Today I had the wonderful opportunity to stamp with a group of retired teachers.  We made four beautiful projects, and I thought I would share one of them with you today.

I've made this design before (with the Spice Cake paper from the Holiday Mini Catalog), but I thought I would update it with some amazing new products from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  

The box portion of this project is simply cut with the Box #2 Bigz XL die using Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  

The wrapper portion all starts with a 2 3/4" x 10 1/2" piece of Island Indigo cardstock.  Using my Simply Scored tool, score at 4 1/2" and 9".  Punch both short edges with the Scallop Edge Border Punch.  Fold on the two score lines.

Now, for the patterned paper.  First of all, isn't this paper gorgeous!!!  It's from the Twitterpated dsp pack in the Occasions Mini.  I just love the fresh color combinations!!!!  You will need two pieces of this dsp, and they should measure 2 1/2" x 4".  Adhere these dsp pieces to the Island Indigo base.  Make sure that the bottom edge of the dsp sits flush on the score line.  

The box nestles into the center of the Island Indigo piece.  Pinch the two scallop edges together and punch two holes about an inch apart using the Cropodile.  Feed in a length of Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon through the holes and tie into a bow.

Stamp the "friends" (from Tiny Tags) onto Whisper White cardstock and punch with the Jewelry Tag punch.  Make a hole at the top of the tag using your paper piercing tool, and feed through a length of White Baker's Twine.  Before tying into a bow, feed each string into one hole on a Twitterpated button.  

Now, onto the carnation!  Carnations are my favorite flower because they don't drive my allergies nuts, and they last a really long time.  Don't get me wrong....I love getting me some gorgeous roses, but they just seem to die so quickly.  If you keep changing the water with carnations, they can last two weeks!  Love that!!!!

It's hard to see on this photo, but the flowers are make with the Faux Suede technique.  

How to make the flowers:

1. using the Blossom punch, punch two flowers from Blushing Bride cardstock
2. for each flower, wad the flower into a tight ball and smooth back out
3. repeat this 3 or 4 times until you see each petal starting to separate into two separate layers
4. VERY CAREFULLY peel the two layers apart.  If one petal isn't separating, just ball that petal up again until the layers come apart.  This step takes a lot of patience, but it's truly worth the wait!
5. after you've separated each of the flowers, you should now have four flower pieces.  
6. making sure the fuzzy side (i.e. Faux Suede) is up, pile the flowers on top of each other, making sure to offset the petals on each layer.  
7. poke a hole in the center of the pile of flowers and secure with a brad
8. now that your flower is contructed, squish the upper flowers and squish less as you work down to the last layer.  This makes the carnation!

Attach the flower to the box using Mini Glue Dots.  

If you've read through this entire post, I really appreciate it!!!!  I know it was a long one, but I wanted to teach you how to make this adorable project!!!

All of the items used to make this project are available from my ONLINE STORE.  Thanks for choosing me as your demonstrator!!!

If you make one, let me know how they turn out!!!

Until next time.....Happy stamping everyone!!!

Project Recipe

stamps:  Tiny Tags
paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Twitterpated dsp
ink:  Black StazOn
accessories:  Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Twitterpated Designer Buttons, Scallop Edge border punch, Jewelry Tag punch, White Baker's Twine, Blossom punch, Silver Brad, Box #2 Bigz XL die

 

 

How Did She Do That?

Do you like making cards for someone that makes them think "how did she do that?".  I sure do.....especially for Dennis.  He tilts his head to the size while analyzing the "cool" element of the card.

For this "cool" card, I chose to make a diorama card.  I just love how it looks like the ship is sailing in the choppy sea.

How to make a Diorama Card:

1. Cut two pieces of cardstock to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
2. Score each of those pieces of cardstock at 1/2", 1", 4 1/2" and 5" 
3. Use a punch, Framelits, Big Shot die to cut the window from the front cardstock piece (I used the 2 1/2" circle punch)
4. Place the two cardstock pieces on top of each other and mark the center of the circle using a pencil
5. Stamp the image you want in the diorama using the pencil dot to help you figure out placement
6. Fold on the score lines.  The first fold should be a valley fold, the second fold should be a mountain fold, the third fold should be a mountain fold, and the last fold should be a valley fold
7. Attach Sticky Strip to the back cardstock piece along each side
8. Adhere the two cardstock pieces together

I've made diorama cards where I've stamped a tree line on the back cardstock piece and added little cutout animals to the front cardstock piece.  

There's no limit to what you can come up with!!!

I'll leave you with the card recipe in case you want to make my sailing the open sea card.

All of the items used to make this card are available for purchase from my ONLINE STORE.  Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator!

Card Recipe

stamps:  The Open Sea
paper:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Rich Regals Patterns dsp stack 
ink:  Early Espresso
accessories:  2 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Stampin' Write Markers, Vintage Brads, white gel pen, sponge