Totally Frogs Blog Hop

My apologies for this being late!

Hello and welcome to the Toadally Frogs Blog Hop hosted by the very talented KarelJ! We have some "TOADALLY" awesome crafters along the way! So sit back and hop along with us! Let's give that Bunny a run for his money!!! You should have hopped here from Krista's at scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com. If you haven't, why not hop all the way back to the beginning with Karel's blog.

Before I start I have to tell you that I love frogs. I had toads that we had caught on vacation when I was young, and we kept them in a small aquarium in our living room. I went and bought crickets for them to eat, and the whole nine yards! When we put in a pond in our backyard, we went and got tadpoles to add in, and we had at least one grow into a frog. He would sit on the lily pad to sun himself. He disappeared though, and I tell myself he hopped away to a better place. Or maybe met a Mrs Frog and are off having tadpoles some place. When my grandmother was alive, she collected frogs. Sadly she passed away when I was young, I was 9 I believe. I remember very little about my grandmother. I remember she liked butter on her sandwiches (which I still don't understand). When she was at our house she drank her coffee from a green mug. I remember her cough. That unmistakable smokers cough. And she collected frogs. She had a bluish-purple frog in her kitchen that held those little green scrubby things for washing pots and pans. When my Grammy (as we called her) passed away, the frog found a loving home in our kitchen. It still lives with my mother in her kitchen. When I moved into my own home, I was out one day shopping for kitchen items when there on the shelf sat this little guy:

He is the same design as the one my Grammy owned, only difference was that this little one was white, they didn't have a bluish-purple one, so I bought him. He lovingly sits in my kitchen, above the sink. His scrubby has never been used. It's a reminder of my Grammy. I only wish that she had lived longer. It would have been nice for her to have met my children. I could hear her now "Doesn't she ever take anything serious" that would be my daughter, and "does he have ants in his pants?" that would be my son. I could just smile and tell her, no Grammy, after all they are just like me when I was little!
Okay so now onto my project. I went with a card, I know surprise, surprise. I love how happy this little frog looks!
I colored him with my Marvelous Markers by Stampin' Up. I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but I did my best at trying to blend and shade colors. I used papers, cardstock and ribbons that I had on hand. I must say I am not sure about the bow. I am NOT a frilly kind of gal. I love this ribbon though, and I think it goes well with the colors of the frog. You can't tell in the picture but it's top half is green, while it's bottom half is yellow. I love how it looks, and i think I bought every color combo they had!
I only wish my Grammy was here. I'd love to send her this card with a little note like "Oh Hoppy Day!" And she'd probably think to her self...."doesn't she ever take anything seriously?" No Grammy, I try not too. Life gets too stressful that way!

Now HOP along to your next stop Stephenie at SSCrafter at http://www.sscrafter.blogspot.com/ And try not to take life so seriously! :)

It's our Birthday!

Happy Friday! Today we are celebrating the Cricut Card Fairies!! We turned THREE YEARS OLD yesterday! YAY! What are Cricut Card Fairies you may be asking? Well I am here to tell you! We are a group of crafting volunteers who LOVE to send cards to those that need it. To date we have sent over 750 missions all over the globe. That is over 750 smiles and hugs via cards. Isn't that amazing? I became a fairy in the very beginning of the group. I started with the very first mission, and here I am so many missions later, and I wouldn't change it for the world! Crystal, had contacted me and asked if I thought that would people would be interested in having a group. I told her absolutely! Sign me up! Now I don't always get to do every mission, but I do as many as I can. Card making is a stress reliever for me. I have so many cards that I have made that I will ever be abe to use myself. So I thought what better way to share the cards, while giving someone a smile (well hopefully)in the process. If you are interested in becoming a fairy you can email Crystal at cricutcardfairyarmy@gmail.com with your cricut messageboard name and the email for which you wish to receive missions.
If you just happened along my blog you may want to go back to the beginning with Crystal at http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/.
If you arrived here from Brenda's blog http://www.beejaysstudio.blogspot.com/
you are in the right place! And please remember when you are finished here to continue with the FABULOUS Karel at http://www.kareljcreations.com/.

And now onto my project!
For the blog hop we are celebrating our birthday, and so I created a birthday card. It features the flower from “Because I Care” and the sentiment from the (now retired) “Watercolor Trio”. By the way, I love this image, and love the fact that you don't have to color it in to achieve a great look! The image is stamped in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla cardstock. I then cut it out using the Top Note die from Stampin’ Up. I layered that piece on a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock which I ran through my BigShot using the Square Lattice embossing folder. That was added to my Very Vanilla cardstock base. I added the finishing touches of the oval punch as well as the Oval Scallop punch and a bit of ¼” Basic Black Grosgrain ribbon. What a cheery way to celebrate someone’s birthday!!
Here is the list of bloggers in our hop in case you get lost along the way.
Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
Larelyn http://www.handmadefromtheheart-designsbylarelyn.blogspot.com/
Rachelle http://www.rachelle-rachellesplace.blogspot.com/
Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/
RachelM http://trickut-rachelscrafts.blogspot.com/
Sheryl http://sherylscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/
Tami http://sunsetami.wordpress.com/
Jenn http://craftingwithjenn.blogspot.com/
Brenda http://www.beejaysstudio.blogspot.com/
Gina http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/ You are here
Karel http://www.kareljcreations.com/

April really?

I can not believe it is already April! And that we are almost halfway through the month already!! Just think in two more months we will be opening up the pools and pulling on our bathing suits. Which reminds me, those chocolate donuts I bought the other day, probably not the best idea! ugh. Thankfully we now have a pool in our back yard so I can relax in it without someone whispering about beached whales and such!! Why can't they invent a donut that when you eat it bam you lose 10 pounds! Imagine what a dozen could do!!! LOL anyway.....I wanted to let you know about Stampin' Up's current offer. For a limited time only YOU can purchase an item from the upcoming new catalog (due out in July) as a preorder! Own it before your friends! After this promotion, the items will only be available after July 1st!



Spend $20* on any Stampin' Up! products and become eligible to purchase both the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper.
Host a $350* workshop and get the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper for FREE
*Net sales before tax and shipping

Click here to see these items in a larger view.

Don't delay! This Preorder is only available until April 30th!!!

Spring Into Some Savings!

Begining today and UNTIL SUPPLIES LAST, Stampin' Up is offering Grab bags full of savings! What a great way to start off Spring! There are three options to choose from:
125873 - $5 Grab Bag (containing at least $20 worth of products!)

125874 - $10 Grab Bag (containing at least $40 worth of products!)

125875 - $15 Grab Bag (containing at least $60 worth of products!)

•Grab bag orders can only be placed in the Online Store. Click Here to get to my Online Store!

•There is no minimum purchase required to participate in the grab bag special offer.

•There is no limit to the number of grab bags you may purchase; however, grab bag items are only available while supplies last.

•All grab bag sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges.

•Not all grab bags will be unique.

Don't delay grab these savings TODAY!

My Stampin' Up Story

I wanted to share with you, my story of how I became interested in and later joined Stampin' Up. My sister had a catalog party when my niece was little, 1998 or 1999 I believe. At the time, my sister lived in Maryland, and I lived in PA, and I wasn't able to attend the Demonstration. But my mom brought home the catalog for me to look at. Well, I wasn't overly impressed at the time, but I did get a few sets, all in FOAM! Yes Stampin' Up! sold foam stamps at one time!! Here's a picture of one below:

One of the sets that I had gotten was Dreams and Dragons.(The picture is in wood, but the one I bought was foam. Mine have since been unmounted):

Well, again I wasn't impressed, the image was rather small, (Stampin' Up has also come a long way in their images and selections! Keep in mind this was 11 years ago!) and so it went into a drawer and I didn't do much with it.
Flash forward a few years. We had a Demonstration here with a local gal, who actually said at the time "I don't make cards or Scrapbook. Someone designed this card for me. But you can make it however you'd like"!! I did place an order, and this time I got some cardstock. Real Red. I also picked up a few sets (in wood this time) again it went into the drawer. At the time I "didn't want to pay that much for Cardstock. I could get it cheaper someplace else!" Flash forward a few more years. Now I have children. And I don't get out much. I have stacks of paper and stamps and all types of stuff which I have collected and not done anything with. But I went to a Stamp Camp around Christmas time and I really enjoyed myself. I considered becoming a Demonstrator although I could "Never come up with ideas on my own"! Again I placed an order, but the Demonstrator, who shall remain nameless, almost acted as though I was a bother. Like my order didn't matter. Now granted, I was the only one who ordered, but it was during SaleABration so I was well over $300 in sales on my own! I decided to find a new Demonstrator. And found one in Colorado! I'm still not sure how that happened! It was then that I finally pulled out that original pack of Real Red cardstock....and fell in love! Every sheet of red was exactly the same color! (You can't say that with the packs of red in those big box stores!) And it's so thick!!! No more flimsy cards!!! Anyway I started seriously considering becoming a Demonstrator. I talked it over with my hubby who said "we don't have the money for the kit". (Party Pooper) Well thanks to President George W. Bush and the stimulus check back in 2007, we had the extra money! And I did exactly what Mr Bush asked, I put it back into the economy! With no offense to the Demonstrator in Colorado (thanks for understanding Joy!) I started looking for an Upline closer to home. I found my Upline, Claire through a friend at work. I called her and she was just the nicest person on the phone! I signed up not long after that. July 11, 2007 to be exact! Not long after that I was invited to a monthly meeting at Claire's house where I had met other Demonstrators in our group the PhillyInkers. At the time we were a small goup, but now we are a pretty good sized group! So big in fact that we had to split and have separate meetings!
I originally started out as being a Hobbyist Demonstrator. But within a year I had 2 Downlines! I now have 5 Downlines! They are spread around the USA in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, California, and Tennessee!

Now with all of that being said I love LOVE LOVE being a Demonstrator!!! I have met so many nice people all through the United States as well as a Demonstrator in Australia! And who could ask for a better job? Stamping and creating? LOVE it! And I still get nervous sometimes that maybe my creations aren't "Good enough". But that's okay! I have a great group of ladies that come to my home once a month to create cards during Card Club. And I hold Stampin' Up Clubs where a number of people agree to purchase a set amount each month and they take turns sharing the benefits of being Hostess.
In closing I'd like to share my first Swap as a PhillyInker. It was pretty plain. But at the time I was proud of it! Now I look back and I can see how far I have come as a crafter and Demonstrator! (and a photographer!)

So if you have ever considered becoming a Demonstrator, ask me! You don't have to be an artist, or some Super crafter! You don't even have to Demonstrate to anyone! You can become a Demonstrator merely for the discount! And trust me if I can do it YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!
So become a Demonstrator today and
"Share what you love, Love what you do!"

Stay Tuned

Our next Blog Hop will be coming soon! The Totally Frog Blog Hop, April 23rd and 24th!

"Make Up Your Own Holiday" Blog Hop

WELCOME to the March 26-27 Make Up Your Own Holiday Blog Hop!!
And now for the important messages: Karelj is offering an over-all blog candy for those who are hopping along with us. She thought it would be fun to have some holiday-themed candy for this hop--but, of course, made-up holiday items were hard to come by! She decided to do a whole bunch of *regular* holiday themed stamps for you to enjoy. From Fiskars, there is an assorted holiday set; there's an alphabet from All Night Media, a set of 100 plus clear stamps and a storage case from Family Memories, and 5 sets of clear stamps from various dollar bins in big box stores. How to win them? Follow along the blog trail, leaving a comment on each and every blog. On Monday, Karelj will ask her buddy Randy (random.org) to select a blog number (from the list), a day (Saturday is one, Sunday is two), and a comment number from that blog. Please make sure you have left a reliable way to contact you (email is best, in the safe format of **** at **** dot com ) so you can be notified by her personally. If you don't, she’ll have to select another winner.

You should have arrived here from Nicolette's Blog! If not you may want to start at Karel's blog. The object of today's blog hop was to create your on Holiday. Tye Dye has always been a part of my life. When I was a child I used to tye dye shirts all the time. Especially at Girl Scout camp in the summer. I always loved mixing up that big 5 gallon bucket of dye! That was back when your only choice of dye came in those little boxes of Rit dye. Now the craft store sell so many different kits with different ways to dye! There's the little bottles that already have the dye and you just add water (that's what we used), but there's also kits with strings that have dye in them and you just tye them on! My sister has a Tye Dye shirt that we teased her about because practically every picture I have of her over a 2 year span, she has the SAME tye Dye shirt on in every picture! LOL. My daughter dyed a shirt once at a Scottish Festival (what the two have to do with each other, I don't know) and she had lots of fun! So I decided one day when it wasn't that cold out that my children and I would go out back and dye some shirts. We had our pajamas on (which we kept on in case of a Dye emergency, after all who will see them in their pajamas?) and they slipped on their rain boots (again in case of a spilled dye emergency, easy clean up). Then they slid their art smocks on and out we went. I gave them quick instructions and let them dye their shirts. They had a great time! My daughter declared that we should do this all the time! So a new tradition was born!





Ok so here is what I came up with. My daughter and I painted coffee filters a while back and they have been in my closet forever. I finally pulled them out to use when I thought abut making a tye dye craft. We started out with plain filters, which we painted with watered down kids washable paint. Here's what one of them look like.
Then I adhered them to pieces of cardstock and just started creating. The first card, (which I used the layout that I have used before, CASED from Ilina Crouse). It features the now retired "Wow Flowers" set by Stampin' Up! I went with black and white accent colors since there was so much color already in the card.

The next card I pulled out my 5-Petal Flower Punch by Stampin' Up and punched out some flowers. Then I took a retired punch to punch out the smaller flower. I stuck them all together using a large white brad. The vase is the Ornament Punch by Stampin' Up with the point trimmed off. I crumpled it up, and distressed it with shiny Versamark and Basic Black to give it a look of patterned glass.

The one flower I layered with Dimensionals. The stems are from Stampin' Up's "Greenhouse Garden" set. I added it all to a Z fold card and added some ribbon. Now I will say that this would NOT be ideal for Scrapbooking pages, since neither the filters. nor the paints are acid free, but I think they made some cute cards! Now I just have to figure out what I will do with the other pile of 15 filters I have still sitting here! LOL, that's for another day!!!

Next you want to hop on over to the wonderful Kathryn's Blog! Here's the list of Blogs in our hop in case you get lost along the way:

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity at http://www.kareljcreations.com
2. Janice at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
3. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.com/
4. Denine at Pumpkin and Spice at http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/
5. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com
6. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com
7. Ellen at Card Monkey at www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
8. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/
9. Monica at Scraps 2 Treasure at http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/
10. Jen at Young’s Scrapping at www.youngsscrapping.blogspot.com
11. Becka at Creations With Becka at www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
12. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! at http://www.jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
13. Michelle at Peanut Butter and jelly Designs at http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com
14. Celeste at Touched By A Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
15. Leah at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com
..."There is an error in Leah's line-up--please make sure you go to Calie after Leah at the blog address below!! So sorry!"
16. Calie at Calie’s Creative Corner at www.Caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com
17. Audrey at It’s A Beautiful Life at www.audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com
18. Bonnie at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
19. Diane at Crafting This Moment at http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com
20. Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
21. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping at http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com YOU ARE HERE!!
22. Kathryn at Creations With Kathryn at http://www.creationswithkathryn.com/
23. Yolie at Just Yolie, Just Create at http://justyolie.com
24. Patti at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
25. Krista Orr at Scrapaleupagus at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
26. Kay Craig at 100 Things at http://kopperhead100.blogspot.com
27. Jane Hollon at Sneezy’s Ramblings at http://sneezy1956.blogspot.com
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