Marvelous Possibilities

It's Friday, almost 1:00, and I am working both Saturday and Sunday.  I better get busy in my craft room.  I am posting this to make myself more accountable for my time.  I have a demo swap at the Stampin' Up! demo meeting on Monday evening, and I am still kicking around card ideas.  I came up with a really cool card idea, on my own, for a graduation card.  But, the Summer Smooches promotion starts on Sunday, and I would love to make a card featuring some of the new products I bought.  I think the brain is on overload, because I starting imagining all kinds of cards I could make, then I start blog hopping looking for other ideas.  I don't know why I do that, because sometimes I think it undermines my own creativity.  I guess it is the need for assurance that my own idea is "good enough", or "best".  I also volunteered to give a demonstration on Monday night at the demo meeting of a new idea or technique.  Right away I came across someth...

Yesterday my friend, Debby and I hosted our first Card Buffet.  We had such a great time, and we were so glad that some of our friends showed up. That's me at the end, holding my granddaughter.  Debby is the one holding the camera, so no photo of her ;(  We had first time stampers, some that have done a little stamping, and some that have quite a bit of experience, and they all enjoyed it.  We had a nice selection of cards to choose from, some easy and some complicated.  Overall I think we came very prepared, but we also found ways we can improve it next time, like have extra paper pieces cut, in case somebody makes a mistake, so they can have a do-over.  Well, we actually had extra pieces, but we had to take them out of another "kit" for another card.  Debby's granddaughter dropped by to make a couple cards, too.  She just went right to work with her very own design.  I loved it. Here are some of the great cards they made yes...

It has been a busy week, and I have not had much time to blog.  Last week on Thursday,e went to the nursing home to celebrate March's birthdays.  My father-in-law, Lyle, will be 93 on March 30.  He has been living in a care facility since last August, but is still a pretty lively fellow.  In fact, he just got married 5 years ago to Irene.  He had not met our new granddaughter, Olivia, so we were anxious to show her off.  She is 10 weeks old now.  First priority was finding just the right dress for the birthday party, because every girl needs a special dress for a party.  Well, there just is not alot out there in size 3 months that meets the specs for a party dress.  I finally settled on a summery sundress with a sweater, for the Minnesota weather could be cold in March.  Turns out that it was almost 80 degrees that day, and she became quickly overheated with the sweater on, and I hated to take it off because the dress was over size...

We had a great time in Milwaukee last weekend at the Stampin' Up! Regional Convention.  I just wanted to show you some of the highlights.  First we had a fun shoebox swap on Friday night.  This is the card that I made for the swap. And the friends I made the road trip with were so much fun.  Great way to get to know some of my fellow demonstrators.  Cindy Standahl, Mary Kiley, Me, Kay Kalthoff, Debby Filiowich On Saturday at the convention we started the day by hitting crowds and swapping the cards we had made for new ones.  I got some great ideas that I can use for future workshops.  Here is a prototype of the card I made.  Can you believe it, I never took a photo of the final card and I gave them all away!!  We made a couple of really cute cards in the morning.  Everything was on the table for the make and takes when we arrived.  It was so cool working and laughing together.  What a fun experience and a great way to ...

Mary and Debby's Make-a-Card Buffet                          Saturday, March 24 at 2:00pm                     101 Willow Pond Trail, Lino Lakes, MN Come, and bring a friend, for a card-making buffet . You will be certain to find just what you need to add to your card collection. Join us to create cards from a “menu” of 10 -12 cards. You get to pick what you want to make!! The cost of this class is $2 per card and includes envelopes. You can go back as many times as you'd like for extra helpings! If you bring a friend, you and your friend each get a gift. Please RSVP for this class by March 15. Thank you!! I know you will love the “menu” choices, and I will work hard to make sure your supplies are perfectly prepared and ready for you to stamp, assemble and sen...

Here is an appetizer, the card I made for our demo swap last week. I spent last weekend in Milwaukee attending a Stampin' Up! Regional Conference.  And now my refrigerator is full! I spent the last couple weeks making cards, cards, and more cards.  First I had a card swap at our demo meeting last weekend, and I got some great swaps. Then we headed off across Wisconsin, a car full of 5 women, with our shoe boxes full of cards.  On Friday night we had a card swap with a group of 16 gals where we each brought our shoebox full of card parts to be assembled.  Each person designed a card for us to make, and we circulated the room from chair to chair making each card, and ending up with a beautiful assortment.  The shoebox swap idea is also the same for a card buffet (which I'll talk more about later).  Saturday we went to the convention center and gathered with hundreds of Stampin' Up! demonstrators, and their guests for a day of fun and lea...