Stampin' S'more

Baby Elle and her Sister -- before we knew she was ours

2011-06-30T18:05:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the early pics of Baby Elle before we got her. It was a long road, and we are enjoying (almost) every minute with her. In other posts I'll put her most recent pics.
This is the sister that Jim and Mary kept.
This is Elle's mama -- Annie.
This is Elle before we knew she was ours. We had to wait for Mary to pick hers. They were referred to as "The Big Girl" and "The Little Girl" We ended up with the big girl. When We brought her home she was 8. 5 pounds!
This is a picture of the four puppies that made it!
This is Baby Elle

It's about time . . .

2010-01-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

Bookmarks and manly cards . . .

One of these things I find incredibly easy to do . . . the other not so much.
One of these things I enjoy doing . . .the other not so much.

The last two years, I have made my students bookmarks for the major holidays (ie. the ones with parties.) I did not take a picture of the Halloween one, but I have mine somewhere and will do it soon. Like the kids last year, this group of kiddos loves to read and they use my bookmarks. Therefore it doesn't feel like a waste of time making them, but then again I make it so that they are mass produced using the xyron and the cricut! Makes life so much easier. This is the one from Christmas 2009.

I ran across the one below and thought, Oh I have to do that for Valentine's Day! So today I started . . and knowing me . . .today I will finish. This first picture is the front. I know it's pink and and the back has hearts, but the boys will understand it's for Valentine's Day. I used some digi-paper. First time ever doing that -- essentially, you download the file and print the paper like a picture. Next time I'll print it on cardstock. I'm not sure I prefer that . . . it probably costs just as much to print it as to buy it -- ink and paper and all.

So as I was saying here is the front of the V-day bookmark.

And yes, each will have the kids names . . I will make sure their names are straight . . . duh.
Here is the back. . . .

And here it is in use . . .

Isn't that sooo cool!!! It goes on the corner of the book!!!! I can't wait to start a new book to use mine. . . but I better not use it at school or it won't be a surprise and the kids are always interested in what I'm reading!

Okay . .on to the manly cards . . .

I hate making them but I think I succeeded. The one with the truck is going to my daddy -- he has a cold. The one with the man in the recliner will be for Father's day . . . and the others will be just for when I need them! I hope you like! Amy

Oh how fun!

2009-10-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

I recently saw this post on Lauren's website about a little notepad thingy she had made . . . I bookmarked it and the first chance I needed a small gift I used the plan . . and so here are my little notepad thingies that I made for the three mom's that helped at the Fall party today . . Tina, Nicole and Debbie.

New Recipe Wrap-ups

2009-08-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

I while ago I blogged about making a recipe wrap-up but turned it into a coupon holder for my purse. Well Dawn mentioned how bad it was looking the other day so today I made a new one . .but ended up making 3. It's funny . . now that I have some of the cool tools . .it is a lot easier to day . .scor pal, printer, xyron 9. Oh so much easier. The one with the S is for my mother in law Susan, the d is for Dawn, and the a is of course for me. The inside does not have little notebooks now.

My Stampin/Scrapbook Room

2009-07-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have been a very lucky girl for a long time and have been blessed with a huge room just for me to stamp/scrapbook in the basement . . but I have never felt like I had enough shelving. Earlier this summer my friend Jenn remodeled her bedroom closet. While I helped her do that I realized...hey I can put that old closet maid stuff in the stampin room and have more shelving . . so tonight I did it. I would like to paint the room too and do have the color picked out and have 4 quarts of the paint for free. . . I'd have to kill ya if I told ya how I got it . . but you can ask me sometime if you really want to know. But we have a hole in the drywall where we had to have the foundation patched that needs to be fixed first . . all in time. hehe! Now to just work down there and not bring it all upstairs when I want to work . . yeah right! haha.

2009-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Little Masked Bandit

The hummingbird -- not as cool!

How fun!!!

2009-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

I just bought Lauren's new template, Milk Made. This is my first attempt with it . . . I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to do with it . . So I went with a wine theme . . I could put some stoppers in it, and some wine charms. . . hmm...what else? a bottle of asprin for after said wine. :-)

See how they are two separate boxes?
These are the boxes out of the carrier...Lauren put two holders together and then made cards to put on the other side...eventually I'll get there. :-)
This is a close up of the awning over the girls.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis

2009-06-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

This was a fast read for me. Read most of it while Curt played Red Faction2 . .some video game. It's about a girl who is the strange girl in the 7th grade. She talks weird, acts weird, but no one is really mean to her. Her father died two years ago and she is dealing with that loss still. She is an outcast with very little social skills and reminds me of some of the kids I have taught. Emma-Jean likes to be helpful and fix people's problems, but that starts to backfire. This is a book that will teach the kids lessons about accepting others, treating others correctly, understanding people's differences, and the importance of minding your own business. :-) This was an okay book. Glad I have it to recommend to the kids, but not a book I'll rave about.

Okay..so there are three book reviews of the books I've read so far this summer. Now I'm on to Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix -- another of my favorite authors -- The Shadow Children Series -- and is the sequel to her book Just Ella another variation on the story Cinderella . . one of my favorite fairy tales! -Till i'm finished...happy reading!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

2009-06-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

All I can say is . . . interesting. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is a book that I have been told is the best and needed to read it. Now, I have read a lot of children's literature due to my job. And I have read a lot of good children's literature. And this was a good book, but I have read books that I liked better. (For example, The Giver by Lois Lowry and Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech -- my two faves and if you want reviews on those let me know...or if you want to chat about those, let me know.) So back to the Invention. The book has a great story, but at 533 pages is very intimidating even for a 30-year old adult...until you flip through the pages. The first 47 pages of the book are double page pictures and the book is full of pictures. The story goes back and forth from being told to being shown the pictures. This is great for those kids who need pictures to keep them going. But you don't miss anything if you don't pay too close attention to the pictures. The story is about a boy named Hugo Cabret. He lives at the train station in Paris and keeps the clocks going in the train station by winding them and setting them. I really don't want to tell too much or I'll give stuff away. Like I said it is 533 pages, but the story is not a very long story. Give it a try and let me know what ya think!

Knit Too by Katie Jacobs

2009-06-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

This was the first book that I read this summer. We read The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs for a book club that I was in with some friends at school. I really enjoyed the first book and couldn't wait to read the sequel. One of my favorite movies is Steel Magnolias, another is Fried Green Tomatoes, and of course I love the Ya-ya Sisterhood. Well if you love these movies also, you will love The Friday Night Knitting Club and the sequel Knit Too. In this book Georgia Walker is a single mother of bi-racial daughter, Dakota. (Man I am a horrible book review writer so I'm just going to write like I talk and if you don't like my format I apologize! :-) ) Georgia owns a knitting shop that she opened before Dakota was born with a load from Anita. Anita is an older woman who takes Georgia and Dakota under her wing and becomes like a mother and grandmother to them. Then enter Darwin, KC, Lucie, and Cat and you have the Knitting Club...but obviously there is much more that happens that brings these women together. The FNKC reminds me of The Women of the 8 . .the wives of a group of couples that Curt and I hang out with. Knit Too continues the story five years later and wraps up some very loose ends. The book was very difficult to put down and still plays over and over in my head. I do recommend that you read the first book before reading Knit Too because you will miss out. After reading the first book I really felt like I knew the girls! Let me know what you think.

I know, I know, I know....

2009-06-09T17:20:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time and I hate when I go to read someone's blog and they haven't updated it in a long time....so here I am...updating with some new projects. Well I bought the score-pal and now have bought my other dream tool...the cricut expression.

Yes, a bit pricey...but I didn't pay $400 for it . . I got mine at Wallyworld for less. BUT I will use it a lot for school also, so it's well worth the money...so after having to wait for new mats -- the one that came with the machine was defective and the company sent me two new ones -- the original was too sticky -- I have begun making projects without ripping letters and shapes. And here is what I've done . . .

yeah they're all the same, but I love them. I also made one for Susie's daughter Makenna who will arrive in September, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I'll be playing more soon as I am on summer break.

Also. . . . I think I might add a new dimension to my blog -- it says s'more so that could mean stampin and smore things, right? So I might start doing some book reviews. We'll see....

Well...I'm back! and I did it!!!

2009-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a scor-pal for a while. I love making boxes . . but I never get my measurements correct . . .and so when Dawn and I recently went to Archivers, they had it there and I bought it!!! And lookie what I made!!! My favorite is the clutch...I would buy it and carry it if I really found one like that....mmm..reminds me of Kate Spade. The small one would be cute to put a gift card in. And the striped one actually has a present for a very special sister who is moving soon...who could that be? :-(

Invites for a BBQ . . .

Well I have to eat some dinner and make sure I'm ready for school tomorrow....but I will soon be one with the scor-pal again!

So sue me . . . I lied!!!

2009-03-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Okay . . I know what I said yesterday and I lied. . . I did not want to do my homework today....so I played instead. I needed to make my mother-in-law a birthday card -- hopefully she forgot about my blog -- I doubt it . .so Susan if you see this, I hope you like it here and in person!
This is what it looks like closed.
And this is what it looks like with the ribbon off so you can open it . . The left side is glued down and you pull it open on the right. . you cann see where the blue paper is split in the middle. This is my first Flopsy set . . isn't he cute?!

This is a free set that I got . .and the inside says . . There is no one in the world like you -- how do you like my ribbon . .it's a new way I tried . . I didn't want to cover her shoes! hehe!

And last, Digital Girl, this set is great! I wish it had some different sayings, but I am a digital girl and love the computer!! So . .there they are . . my cute cards for today . . hope you like 'em!

Hi, my name is Amy and I am a stampaholic. :-(

2009-03-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Okay...this will be it for a while. . . I need to do some school work . . can anyone tell that I am ready for spring break!!! 1 day down . . 9 to go . . . but who's counting!!! (Amy pauses to raise her hand!)

So here ya go . . . four new sets . . .hehe!

This is Hooga Booga (I think) . . its a card for my niece, Addy.

This is Serenity Now and one that I got for free. . .this is for someone special, but if I put who then that person will know s/he is getting this card and that won't be a surprise. I hope s/he likes it. :-)

This is a set called Nite Nite Ellie . . I think it is too cute. . .so I made Chloe a card . .hopefully her Mommy won't show her this page or it won't be a surprise!!!

And this is the set Meet me at the Cafe. Dawn will like this one because the girls' heads are covered -- not missing! I don't know if you can tell but I versa-marked the bottles and glasses and then embossed them so they look and feel like glass! tehe!

I will play more over spring break . . but I'm off for now . .hope you enjoy your day!

Buttons and Embellishments . .

2009-03-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have (as you can see by looking farther down in my blog) fallen in love with MFT stamps.
On Splitcoast stampers they mentioned a guest designer contest so I decided what would it hurt...but I had to use buttons! I'm not a huge embellishment person -- I do love ribbon -- but I sometimes find myself going overboard!!! and make my cards look like a pile of junk. So I stopped myself on the one below, but feel it's a little bland still. I did end up using it as my entry because I love the chair and the paper piecing (for those of you who don't know what that is . . her nightgown (wonder if others think it's a dress) and foot stool were stamped on patterned paper and I cut it out with my super sharp itty bitty scissors...then glued it in place. Well Mom thought the buttons were in the wrong place . . and didn't need ribbon so we tried the other. So number one was the original and number 2 is what was turned in . . your opinion -- should I not listen to Mom about stamps? (sorry Mom if you read this). The second (or technically 3rd) card to me looked like the stamps were an after thought...where as the first two it looks like the were purposely put there....hence the reason for selecting the blue sisters/chocolate card as my entry. Whatcha think?

My MFT Idol Contest Card

2009-03-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my MFT Idol Audition Piece

I bought this for school....not stamp related...

2009-03-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

I bought a DXG-567V HD Videdo Camera for school . . .this is the first video I shot -- it's awful, but I'm soo excited that it works!!! Yes I know uber-tech geek! :-)

Oh soooo fun...

2009-02-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

I have fallen in love with MFT Stamps . . . especially the who's that girl line! Here are two of my newest sets . . Hangin' with my Peeps which releases on Tuesday (I got it early!!!) and How Sweet It is

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I'll do more later and post them! I have a snowman set too! hehe!

Science Fair Nugget Boxes

2009-01-31T19:13:00.001-08:00

My friend Jenn and I are the Science Fair Coordinators at my school. We were supposed to have open house last Thursday night, but due to Snow Days it is now going to be Monday night. Thursday night we were at school until at least 7:30 and Friday night until 8:45 working on Science Fair! Lots of work, but that's okay. We did have some great judges, so I made them some thank you gifts . . . whatcha think?!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow s'more!

2009-01-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pics of what we got over the last two days....the big bunch fell yesterday and last night. . .

Post 2 -- I know it took forever . . .

2009-01-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

So my snow day has allowed me to play in my play room -- but truth be told I brought a bunch of junk upstairs and played while watching TV . . . so here is what I've been up to . . .

My friend Dawn's little boy, Charlie, turned one on January 15. A while ago she mentioned having a Baby Einstein Cake for his party. I mentioned that it would be fun to make that and offered. She took me up on it. So here is the practice cake . . .

Then I made the real cake . . .

I loved how the colors turned out on the second one and my use of jumbo gumdrops! As I was making the first cake, Curt asked me if we were going to start making kids birthday cakes now? And of course it was in a sarcastic . . .please no! Amy . . .tone. I told him, no, I will not give up my markers and paper. So back to those things . . .

For Christmas, I made my kids/students bookmarks, but did not take pictures of them. It would be very easy to get pictures of them because my kids/students have them all over of the room. Almost every one of the kids use that bookmark. So I decided for Valentine's Day I would make them new bookmarks and valentines, too.

I just love that little mouse!!! He's soooo cute!!! The saying on the bookmark is a result of a blog I posted on my classroom website to the kids about falling in love with a book I was reading one weekend.

And now . . . for the fun thing that I've wanted to try for a while now. One of my favorite bloggers is Lauren Meader. I just love her tips and abilities. I downloaded the Recipe Wrap-up Template and attempted to use it, but couldn't get it to line up correctly. So after a break from it, I attempted to do it on my own and it worked!!! I change my wrap-up so that it holds little notepads for grocery shopping and coupons. Here it is! I plan on putting a pen it it later. We'll see how often I make this! It's a great present, but takes a little bit of time -- then again that could have been just because I had to remake my template to get it to work for me.

Hope you enjoy my projects for today!
~Amy

My turn to try . .

2009-01-06T16:59:00.001-08:00

Well, I have decided that this might be easier to do then posting all of my fun new creations to my Splitcoast Gallery and it would be easier for people to see my new stuff if they follow my blog instead of me saying, "Hey go look at my new stuff." I think I get more excited about my creations then other people, but I appreciate everyone who "deals" with my enjoyment of this hobby. Ok, according to Dawnie it's an obsession. Well maybe, but until the create stampers annonymous I'll just deal with my addiction with others who are also addicted. :-)

I apologize ahead of time for this long post. Since it's my first, I have to give a little bit of background info.

I have been a scrapbooker/stamper for a while now. Thought I would never stamp, thought I would never scrapbook -- everyone who does it says it. So back in November when I was working on my Christmas cards, I just was not happy with the way my coloring was turning out. I always wanted my coloring to look like the cards and projects I saw in the magazines or on the computer made by other people. I just figured it was all computer generated and that I would just have to settle for what I was doing and using, but I was so bored with my work that I hadn't spent much time in my scrappin room in quite a while. So I started doing some research to see what people color with. I found many people loved copics. While I loved the outcome, I didn't love the price. Someone mentioned that they could get the same affect with prismacolor markers and so I decided to give that a try with a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby. :-) And oh no! Amy had found her tool! I started with some of the stamp sets I had and loved how much better the colors turned out. Here is what my Christmas card this year looked like:

This card is the truck colored with just colored pencil. After getting my markers, I added the road to a few of the cards -- to those who would appreciate it.

Well, then I did the bad thing of looking at other people's blogs, read Jody's blog, saw the paperdolls she made with her daughters and thought I needed to check out MFT stamps and fell in love with the Who's that Girl line and bought the Merry Christmas? set. Did I have fun with them when I got them . . . of course! I was out of control. Here are some of those cards:

These revelations were all occurring during winter break. Curt was on vacation, too. He would play his XBOX game and I would websurf the blogs and splitcoast stampers. Then I would say, "I'll be right back," down the steps I would go and would soon return with a new project. The new project was a candle. When I first saw the project -- I don't remember where -- I thought that that lady had one steady hand and I would never be able to stamp that smoothly on a candle. I decided to read the tutorial anyhow and was I ever thrilled with the result because it had nothing to do with a steady hand. Just some tissue paper and wax paper. Here it is:

I love this project so much, I helped all my nieces make candles for everyone for Christmas. Peyton and Addy put their hands on them and Paige created her own drawings. It was great fun. And I am going to have my kids make mother's day and father's day presents this way.

I then found a Post-it note desktop pad example and decided I needed to make those for the parents who helped at the Winter Party at school. I will only show you two of the seven designs I made -- and I made 30 total. What? Did someone say obsession?

The next stamps I found that I have really gotten hooked on are House-Mouse designs. Curt even found these cute -- which is a huge feat for Curt to get excited about something related to my stamping. His mom loves mice and little critters and he immediately said she would love them. So off I went -- again to Hobby Lobby -- and bought two stamps. I returned two weeks later to buy 6 more. Oh, but look at my coloring! I love my prismacolor markers!!! I ended up making my mother-in-law a basket with cards for all occasions. Can you believe I forgot to make thank you cards?! I haven't given her the basket yet, so I'll add those before . . or make a separate project that you will see below for those.

Well, I think the last creation I will leave you with are two totes that I made. I have made these before at a stamp camp that I went to, but never had the template. I attempted to make my own a while ago and needless to say I was not very successful. However, now I have found the template and it has made a huge difference in my new results. So I will be making more of these . . . so be watching for these to be appearing pretty regular on here or as a gift to people I know. :-)

I would carry a purse that looks like the black and white one really! If only...

Well thanks for reading my long rambling. My posts will probably not be this long in the future. I just had to post a bit for my introduction. Have a good day!
~~Amy