MIA and a Christmas Sale

 If you are looking for the CardMaker and The Stamps of Life Blog Hop, please scroll down or click:

---> HERE <---

 

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Hello everybody!

I'm back! It's been awhile since I posted something not scheduled. It's been a pretty awesome summer so far and I hope you all are enjoying  your summer as well.  I have been MIA for over a month and I missed you all.

A few weeks ago, we had family visiting from the UK.  My hubby's brother and his family came to spend 3 weeks with us.  (They are Filipino/British) They recently got their British citizenship so we told them to celebrate it with us here. My hubby Sam and his brother Genesis haven't seen each other for 13 years. But they talk on the phone, they Skype/FaceTime. I haven't seen Genesis and his wife Irene for 21 years and I have not seen their kids at all! So it was something that I was really looking forward to.  My parents were also visiting from Ukraine so our house was really packed...with fun and laughter!

So what did we do while they were here? We toured the around Chicago, went up the Willis Tower...saw all the sights and of course did some shopping.  But the major event that we had was our 

ROAD TRIP!

 

And this was our route:

 

We started from Chicago and we drove to Orlando FL. (Passing IN, KY, TN GA) We stayed a few days in Orlando to visit Disney and Universal Studio. Then we drove from Orlando to Washington DC. (passing GA, SC, NC, VA) We stayed there for the weekend and celebrated my son's birthday in Richmond, VA. My parents  had some work/meetings in Washington DC so they couldn't come with us for the 3rd leg of our roadtrip.

Early Monday morning, we drove up to Niagara Falls, Canada. (passing PA, OH, NY). After 3 days in Canada, we started our drive back to Chicago. But we didn't want the road trip to end. So while driving, we were making plans as to where we will be going for our next road trip. So that was just part 1 of our road trips!

 

I got sun burned, a dozen insect bites, slept in uncomfortable beds with a lack pillows, got some ugly tan lines or zebra stripes on both arms and legs, had the frizziest, cotton-candy-like hair in Florida, had a nasty blister on both feet after walking all day around Washington DC....BUT over all it was FUN!!!

 

These are just a few of the photos I have on my phone. My phone was assigned for navigation so taking pictures was sort of limited for me.

SO that pretty much is the reason why I haven't been in the card making scene for awhile.  But now, I'm back! Probably not in full swing just yet because it is still summer and my son is still off from school and keeping him busy takes much of my crafting time.

Anywhoo...are you guys ready for a sale? A Christmas sale? Well, if you're thinking of starting to make your Christmas cards, today is the right time to visit and shop at Stamp and Create:

All Christmas Designs in the Christmas Sale section
are on sale 25% off.

**Plus all orders with Christmas Sale items will receive a free set of
Christmas Themed Charms**

OK. I hope you are still with me. Sorry for my long post.

Thank you stopping by and I hope to see you again soon

 

CardMaker Magazine and The Stamps of Life Blog Hop

Hello everybody!

Today, CardMaker Magazine (blog) and The Stamps of Life are having a Blog Hop.

 

If you came from Jeanne Streiff's blog, you are in the right place. If you are lost, or just happened to pop in, you can start the blog hop at CardMaker Magazine Blog.

The design teams (CardMaker Blog and The Stamps of LIfe) has come together to bring you lots of inspiration and beautiful cards.  Stephanie Bernard, owner of The Stamps of Life have tons of beautiful stamps and it was hard for me to choose which of the stamp sets to feature for this blog hop.

So I finally decided to make 2 cards.

For my first card, I used the stamps from the  Tress2Build Stamp set. 

This set comes 2 tree trunk designs and several leaf patterns, a couple little birds and some sentiments that you can use all year round.

For my second card,  I used stamps from the Branches4flowers Stamp set.  

This set comes with flower images in variety of sizes, 4 different leaf designs and sentiments that you can also use all year round.

The Stamps of Life will be hosting a giveaway of three stamp sets ($12.95 value or less) to one winner on their blog. So be sure to visit all the blogs for a chance to win!

Your next stop  -------> Kim Pargeter

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful week ahead.

SCMC: Summer Fun

Hello Friends!

Once again, it's time for another challenge at Stamp and Create with Magnolia.

Our Theme for the next 2 weeks is:

SUMMER FUN

When we talk about summer fun, we think of beaches, picnics, vacations, trips, BBQ...and all sorts of fun stuff we get to do during summer. One of my favorite things to do during summer is afternoon bike rides with my hubby and my son. That's why today, my card for this weeks challenge features On The Road Tilda from the Sea Breeze Collection.  I have to admit.  I colored her almost a year ago and I forgot about it.  She was stock in between my 6 x6 pads. I colored her with Distress Ink Reinkers and I really fell in love with her yellow dress. So I added some yellow WOC flowers and a pale grosgrain ribbon with a  dotted bow.

Here's a closer look at Tilda.

Here's the inside of the card.

 

Now it's your turn! Link up your creations HERE for a chance to win

Thank you for visiting me today and I hope to see you again soon!

CCD July Review: Roberto's Stamps

Hi Today we are having reviews of CC Designs July Stamp release.

Here I have Roberto's Miss B colored with Copics and the sentiment is from  the All About Teachers sentiment set.  That cut little apple was cut using the  CCD Apple Cutter Die.

For more Reviews, visit the CCDesign Blog

CCD: July Review

Hi. Today was are having a review of the July Stamp Release from CC Designs.

Here I heat embossed the Scripted Sentiments and added some balloons cut using the 

Balloons Cutter Die

For more Reviews, visit the CC Designs Blog

Stamp and Create Monthly Challenge: Birthdays

We have a new challenge at Stamp and Create!
For the month of July our theme is:

Birthdays

Easy peasy, right? Most of us card makers make birthday cards for friends and family. So be for you hand/send them the cards, be sure to link up you cards for a chance to win:

For my take on our challenge, I made a birthday tag and I colored Rose Packages
using Copics, as the focal point of the tag. Something simple to add to a gift bag.

 

Visit the Stamp and Create store blog for more inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!

SCMC: Seeing Stars

Hello Friends! It's time for another challenge at 

Stamp and Create with Magnolia.

Our theme for the next 2 weeks is:

Seeing Stars

In celebration of the 4th of July, Independence Day, we would like to see stars on your cards/projects.  It doesn't have to be 4th of July related. Just remember to add stars on your cards/projects.

For my take on this challenge, I made a birthday card for my son who is turning 12 this month. I colored Edwin with Derby Hat using Copic Markers. And I used die cut stars to embellish the card.

Now. it's your turn! Link up your creations HERE for a chance to win:

Thank you for stopping by and  have a safe July 4th!