GulfcoastStamper

Mr Bones & Blog Candy Winner!

I just can't seem to get enough of the Cookie Cuter Halloween and Christmas stamp sets. I have had so much fun playing with them and I can't wait for my cookie cutter class on the 25th of this month. Until then, I will share another treat project that is perfect for your little Trick or Treaters.  

I found these little pack of brightly colored bones at my local $ store and immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.  The little skeleton from the Cookie Cutter Halloween set was colored to match my bone candy and I used my Jar of Love Thinlits Die on the front of my package so my bones would show through.  

I used Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush and Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write Markers and coordinating card stock.  Here's a great paper-saving tip for you: Cut your whisper white card stock into 2 1/8" x 11" strips before stamping.  You will get 4 equal strips from one piece of card stock and you will not waste paper punching out the accessory pieces of the punch. Here is a quick tutorial on how to put these together:  

Cut card stock at 4 x 5 1/4".  (you can get 4 treat pouches out on one piece of card stock) Score at 1 1/4" and 3 3/4".  Place double sided tape on bottom inside (wrong side) center panel as shown.  Also place double sided tape on one side only of outside (right side) long panel.  

Die Cut mason jar with thinlits die.  (be sure to cut it with your tape at the bottom!) 

Remove tape from bottom and fold over flap with tape on outside edge as shown above.  Remove remaining tape and fold over remaining side flap.  Flip over and slide treats in.  Decorate as desired.  

That's it!  Quick and easy and oh so cute! I hope you enjoyed my little treat package today.  All the supplies to make them can be found in my on-line store by clicking on any one of the product links below. 

Cookie Cutter Halloween Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$17.00

Cucumber Crush 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Tempting Turquoise 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

$15.00

Brights Stampin' Write Markers

$29.00

Jar Of Love Photopolymer Bundle

$52.00

Cookie Cutter Builder Punch

$18.00

Spooky Fun Photopolymer Stamps

$16.00

Duet Banner Punch

$18.00

 

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

 

 

Blog Candy Winner!

 

The winner of my Blogging Friends Blogaversary Blog Candy Giveaway (selected by Random.org) goes to Patty who just happens to be one of my local stampers! Congratulations Patty!  

 

 

Thanks for stoppin' by today!  

Disney Crop Room Mate Gifts

Yesterday I shared the table gifts I made for our recent crop weekend at Disney.  Today I want to share my latest crafting obsession and the gifts I made  for the girls I roomed with that weekend.  

Living in south west Florida gets hot.  Really hot.  A miserable, humid, muggy, sweaty kind of hot. And in this kind of heat you need to stay hydrated.  I like my drinks cold.  Ice cold.  The problem is that even at work it is hard to keep fresh ice in the (questionable) community freezer.   Now, any good Floridian will tell you that they never leave home without their Tervis Tumbler and while I have spent the last 12 years touting the awesomeness of Tervis and their ability to keep ice cold for several hours, the Tervis I loaded with ice before leaving the house at 7:30 is still sans ice by noon.  Not good. (and it makes for a very cranky afternoon).  

Then I was introduced to Yeti.  A Yeti tumbler is a 30 ounce, (yes, 30 ounces although they do make a 20 ounce as well),  double walled, stainless steel tumbler that will keep ice in it's ice-like state for up to 18 hours.  That is all day, even if you leave it in your car in the unbearable Florida heat. After my son broke down and bought one for himself and could not stop singing the praises of the Yeti, he bought me one for Christmas last year.  But, being the consummate crafter, I refused to use my Yeti until I had customized it. No naked Yeti for this crafty chick.   But I have commitment issues.  This is a big decision people! I did not want to be like every other southern girl and put my monogram on my Yeti.  I need something more unique, more me.  So after much soul searching and more than a few sleepless nights I finally decided on a design for my Yeti and used my Silhouette to cut it out of turquoise glitter vinyl.  (because everything is better with glitter and my Yeti deserved nothing less) 

The problem is a 30 ounce Yeti retails for $39.99.  Now don't get me wrong, it's worth every penny and in Florida it's a necessity.  Then along comes Walmart with their knockoff version (their own Ozark brand) for, are you ready...........$9.97!  One fourth of the price of the Yeti!  Does it work as well?  You betcha.  (which is why Yeti is currently suing Walmart so get em while you still can) In side by side comparisons they are pretty much the same amount of ice-preserving awesomeness.  The problem is they have taken the southern crafting world by storm and they are next to impossible to find here now.  Walmarts all over the south have started to limit the number you can purchase at once because southern crafters have been buying them up by the dozens and customizing them in all kinds of creative ways.  Since they are such a hot commodity here, I wanted to customize a few for my roomies but it took me several trips to four different Walmarts to find them.

I had a Facebook conversation with a woman who had used vinyl and alcohol inks to cover her "Feti" (fake Yeti) and she was kind enough to share her technique with me.  I tried to customize them to reflect the personalities of the recipients because like me, I know they have commitment issues too.  Personally, I think I nailed it.  I hope they feel the same.  

This one was for my friend and roomie Kari... 

The back of the cup says "Be a Peacock in a world full of pigeons". Love that saying.  

This one was for my friend Kelly's birthday...

Love this saying too.  In fact it may have to go on the back of my seahorse.  

Just to complicate matters and send my creative brain into overdrive, my oldest son who lives in Orlando sent me this picture the other day.  

Apparently Walmart now has their Ozark brand "Feti's" in matt black.  Oh the possibilities!  I see some Halloween and Manly Feti's in my future lol!  

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Disney Crop Goodies

I know, I know, I have been away from my blog for months while my life has been in complete and utter chaos.  It is very hard to find your mojo/motivation when the majority of your toys and supplies are packed in boxes and sealed with several layers of packing tape and you are desperately trying your best to keep your house clean and orderly for potential buyers.  I won't bore you with all the gory details, but where there's a will, there's a way so I'll just show you what I have been doing lately!  

A few weeks ago me and several girlfriends took a long weekend to attend an organized crop at the Contemporary Resort at Disney!  The Contemporary is one of the original hotels on Disney property, (it was opened in 1971), but it's pretty cool in that the monorail runs right through the 4th floor of the hotel.  We had been planning this trip for almost a year and what started out as 9 of us quickly grew to 15.  We had a blast and have already signed up to do it again next year.  There were 182 of us in attendance...that's 182 crazy crafty women in one (very large) room with very little sleep and all kinds of crazy antics. Here is the group shot taken from above by one of the Disney photographers:

You know you can't spend 4 days with a group of crafty women without making gifts for everyone, right?  Most of us made gifts for our room mates and several of us participated in a "Secret Santa" type gift exchange. (more on that later)  Many of us also made table gifts for all the girls in our group (I made 17 to include our two hosts).  In keeping with our Disney theme this is what I came up with for table gifts...

I used the French Fry Die from Stampin' Up! (retired) to make my Mickey Mouse bottoms that held an assortment of crop necessities. Don't you just love the little button brads on his suspenders?   The personalized mouse head tag was created using my Silhouette Cameo.  (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Cameo?) 

The tags had a label on the back side that explained my reasoning for the contents of their goodie bags...

Croppers Survival Kit

Bandaids:  for those nasty papercuts.

Biofreeze:  for the crimp in your neck from

slaving over all those beautiful pages!

WetOnes:  for when you have inky fingers and

the bathroom is too much of a hike.

Chocolate:  because chocolate makes everything better

TicTacs:  for when you stayed up all night scrapping

and your toothbrush is all the way back in the room.

Advil:  for the inevitable croppers hangover

Disney Crop 2016 Luggage Tag:

My gift for you to commemorate this

awesome girls weekend!

Once again my Silhouette got a workout making luggage tags for each of the girls to add to their crop totes to remember our weekend.  (I think I will need to make one now for every crop!) I wish I had taken a picture of all 15 of them together but you get the idea.  The photo blow shows both the front and back of each tag.  

And here they are all packed up and ready to go!

We came home with more ideas than we have time to execute and a really, really long wish list of new products that we need to add to our arsenals.  We met lots of fun, like-minded scrappers and stampers, laughed a lot, drank too much, slept to little and I can't wait to do it again next year!  

Thanks for stoppin' by!  

Crazy Retired Product Giveaway!

As most of you know, my husband and I have recently become empty-nesters.  We have spent the last year contemplating whether or not to sell our house and downsize so we have been going on the assumption that we will get it ready to sell and take care of some much needed paint and minor repairs.  If we decide to sell we will be ready and if not we have fixed the things that needed fixing anyway.  I have also spent the last year going room by room and purging 11 years of accumulation and either donating or packing up that which we don’t need or use every day. 

With the exception of my craft room. 

That is a year-long task in and of itself.  Between the fabric, the yarn, the embroidery supplies, and an endless supply of Styrofoam, acrylic paints, ribbons, jingle bells, buttons, ornament blanks, stamp camp supplies, etc., etc., I could easily fill a small warehouse and we have not even touched on the stamps, paper, ink, dies, vinyl, embellishments, and every tool known to man for my paper-crafting hobby and Stampin’ Up! business. 

 

It is a monumental task which I started this past weekend.  I have come to the conclusion that the majority of the excess SH#* in our house belongs to me.  (which I will vehemently deny if you bring this topic up to my husband)

 

The room desperately needs to be painted as I am the one that painted it in the first place and I am a lousy painter.  I love my cheerful, bright apple green walls but I am afraid that I am probably the only one who does (as confirmed by my husband and youngest son) so it needs to go.  So, all but my basic necessities are getting boxed up and put away for my new craft room, wherever that may be.  But, there is much purging to be done and I am making a huge mess (which will soon get better) but oh the goodies I am finding in the process! 

So, stay tuned for an announcement on a HUGE crafty garage sale in the very near future but in the meantime, I have a very special deal for you.  I have quite a collection of brand new, never used, retired Stampin’ Up! stamps, kits, and accessories with values up to $30.  Since they have been sorely neglected I am anxious to see them go to a good home where they will get some much needed use and attention. 

Beginning TODAY, April 26^th through the month of May (or whenever my stash is depleted), I will include a FREE surprise gift with every $50 merchandise purchase in my on-line store using the Hostess Code NZ7D4KAZ.  First come, first served and remember you have all these money saving options available to you right now!

• Retired Stamp List
• Retired Acessory List
• Stock up on Cardstock before the June 1st price increase
• Save 15% on Bundles that are going away with the new catty 

All gifts will be mailed to you within a few days of your order unless a local delivery would be more timely.  This offer is open to U.S. residents only.  Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

An Easter Egg for My Mom

Only 7 More Days to Sale-a-Brate!  

 I am a New England transplant living in Naples Florida.  My mom (and most of my family) are 1500 miles away in Western Massachusetts.  Although she usually makes the trip down here at least once a year it is always in the fall so I wanted to make something special to send her for Easter. She is a huge chocoholic (this apple didn't fall far from that tree, lol!) so I filled it up with some of her favorite chocolatey treats.   Although I used my Silhouette Cameo to do all the cutting, all the supplies I used to make my Easter Egg are from Stampin' Up!  

My box was constructed from some retired textured card stock in Blushing Bride.  Oh how I wish Stampin' Up! would bring back this textured paper!  I prefer textured card stock when creating 3D designs and this one has a nice subtle sheen to it that my electronic cutter loves.  I have never gotten a bad cut with this stuff.  The pretty floral is from the Birthday Bouquet Designer Series Paper Pack.  It really could have used some flower and butterfly embellishment on the top but to be honest I simply ran out of time if I was going to get it in the mail to arrive by Saturday.   

I filled it up with some pink Easter grass and some of her favorite chocolate truffles.  Hopefully they will make it out of Florida without melting and making a mess!  The cut file I used for the egg is from the Happy Easter SVG Kit which is brand new from SVG Cuts.  

I hope it arrives on time, with chocolate in tact, and I hope she likes it!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

In This Together for HYCCT1505

The Hope You Can Cling To Challenge is still going strong over at SplitcoastStampers,  I am still a few challenges behind but I am on vacation next week and hopefully I can get all caught up then!  My card today is for the 5th challenge "Don't Color Between the Lines."   Here are the guidelines for this challenge:

"Your challenge is to use an UNcolored line image on your card. If you want to accent a small part of the image with a color or sparkle, that's okay. You can stamp it on whatever paper you want in whatever ink you want, just don't color in your lines." 

And here is my card for this challenge:

This was a lot harder than it looks! I so wanted to color in my images!  They look naked to me.  The guidelines did state that I could stamp on whatever I wanted so I did paper-piece the umbrella and parts of the poodle.  I was very tempted to paper-piece their raincoats as well but I resisted the urge. 

I do love the sentiment on this image, especially for this challenge.  What a great way to let someone know that they do not have to face their cancer journey alone. 

Please check out all the great inspiration in the Hope You Can Cling To galleries over at Splitcoast.  The link is below and thanks for stoppin' by!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/hope-you-can-cling-challenge-forum-f299/hycct1505-dont-color-between-lines-t603721.html#ixzz3nqTirKPi

 

 

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I am a Warrior - HYCCT1503

I did not get as much stamping time in this weekend as I had hoped so I am a few challenges behind schedule for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. I also have a Stamp Camp to prep this week so I will most likely get further behind before I get caught up, lol.  I love the theme of the third challenge "I am a Warrior", here are the guidelines for this challenge:  

"Whether you are the patient, caregiver or supporter of a patient, your warrior strength is called upon during this challenging journey. For this challenge, create something that shows strength or inspiration. You could use Native American inspiration, something camo to represent our military heroes, any symbols that invoke strength and fierceness.'

And here is my challenge card:

I love this sentiment from the Feels Good stamp set, in fact this image is the reason I purchased the set.  I think it speaks to the fighting spirit of so many women I know and it fits this challenge beautifully. 

I used three different patterns from the English Cottage Designer Series Paper which feature Blushing Bride and Mossy Meadow.  I'm not sure I would have paired these two colors together had it not been for the DSP as my inspiration, but I am really liking the soft pale pink of the Blushing Bride together with the strong earthy green of Mossy Meadow. There is also just  a touch of Rose Red thrown in for contrast. 

I hope you will join us over at Splitcoast Stampers this month!  Whether you participate in one challenge or all 40, we would love to have you!  All the info on the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge is in the link below:

Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/hope-you-can-cling-challenge-forum-f299/hycct1503-i-am-warrior-chat-thread-t603680.html#ixzz3nkbhUhOB

 

Thanks for stoppin' by! 

 

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Hope You Can Cling To

During the month of October, which is breast cancer awareness month, there is a great challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers.  There are 40 challenges during the month...40!  I am going to do my best to get at least one a day done this month for a total of 31 card challenges, more if I can swing it!  The cards that will be made by stampers all over the world will be donated to local hospitals for cancer patients and their families to spread notes of encouragement, faith and thanks.  The majority of the cards created in the US will be going to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  Mine will be going there as well In Memory of Christine Thompson.  

For the month of October I will post my challenge cards at the bottom of my Blog posts.  I am trying to be realistic in my expectations of how much and how timely I can get the challenges completed as I do work full time, I have Stamp Camps and classes to plan and prep and my house is in the "it gets worse before it gets better" stage while we get it ready to sell.  They will not be posted every day but as I get the challenges done so you may see two or three at a time.  (this working full time for a living really gets in the way of my stamping time!) 

The challenge is open to everyone so you should join us! If you are not already a member of Splitcoast you should be!   Membership is free and there is so much great information and inspiration over there.  It's a lot of fun for a great cause, if you would like to get in on the fun check it out HERE.  

We will also be making extra cards to send at my October 6th Stamp Camp and if you would like to donate cards but not necessarily participate in the challenge, I will be happy to collect them at Stamp Camp and throughout the month to send along to MD Anderson.  (You can register to join us for Stamp Camp HERE) 

Please stop by daily to see my challenge cards or better yet subscribe to my blog so you never miss a post!  (You can subscribe in the right hand side bar)

Thanks for stoppin' by and I'll see you right back here tomorrow!  

Holiday Kick-Off Party Favors

I absolutely love planning themed events especially when there is a large group of fun women and stamping involved. This past weekend  was my Holiday Catalog Kick Off Party and we had an owl-themed Halloween Party with 25 crazy stampers.  I actually hate Halloween the holiday (and have since I was a kid) but I LOVE Halloween decorations and cute ways to package Halloween treats.   And what is a party without party favors? 

I made 25 of these cute little votive party favors and was pretty pleased with the way they turned out.  The votive holders are very inexpensive (about $1.00 each at my local craft store) but if you purchase the bridal pack which is a pack of 16 they are only about $0.50 each and I used a 40% off coupon which brought the individual cost down even more.  (and I still have a few left for Christmas,yeah!)

I found pumpkin scented votives and I knew Stampin' Up's new spider web doilies would give the votives a cool eerie look when lit.  I also used the Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper and the Sweet Hauntings Stamp Set, all from the new Holiday catalog. 

I did heat emboss the "Poison" bottles for some added shine and dimension.  They were also popped up with stampin' dimensionals.  I then packaged them in some little cello bags I had on hand and finished my tags off with a bit of coloring and some black eyelash yarn.  The tags were attached to the bags with black and orange mini clothespins that I found at a local store.  So cute and they were a big hit!  And the best part was that each one of them had a ticket on the bottom that corresponded with a door prize!  Everyone went home with a gift! 

I hope you enjoyed my fun little party favor and thanks for stoppin' by! 

 

 

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Stamp Camp Salsa

I don't really know how it started but several years ago I made this awesome salsa recipe for my monthly Stamp Camp.  I have heard it called many things over the years including Cowboy Caviar, Veggie Crack, Kitchen Sink Salsa, and Southwest Salsa but 'round these parts it is known as Stamp Camp Salsa.  If I do not make it for Stamp Camp I hear about it.  Seriously.  My regulars expect it every month and I am beginning to believe that they come to Stamp Camp not for the projects (which are awesome) or the camaraderie, (which is the BEST) or for my sparkling personality (which needs no explanation) but strictly to get their monthly salsa fix.

Sooooo, I may be shooting myself in the foot here and I may never see some of my favorite stampers ever again but by popular demand here is the recipe:

Stamp Camp Salsa

1 red onion, chopped

2 cans Rotelle Tomatoes

(you really do need to use Rotelle tomatoes and I prefer the ones with cilantro & lime) 

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans sweet corn, drained (you can use frozen if you prefer and fresh corn is even better!)

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (to taste, but one can never add too much cilantro IMO)

Juice of 2 limes (use a lime juicer to get it all!)

2 avocados cut into cubes

Throw everything but the avocado in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.  (I like to make mine the day before)  Cube avocado just before serving and toss with the rest.  This makes a Stamp camp size batch which you can cut in half.  But I wouldn't recommend it.  It will disappear quickly.  If you do have any left over (which I doubt you will) it is awesome over grilled chicken or mixed with rice or quinoa for a healthy side dish.  Yum.  You're welcome.  

To all my Stamp Camp ladies, (you know who you are), I better see you all next month or I will know for sure that it really was all about the Salsa. 

That's all for today.  I will be back tomorrow with a few pics from this past weekend's Holiday Catalog Kick-Off!  Thanks for stoppin' by!