Good Morning and Happy Hump Day to you! I know it has been a while since I have posted but as you know me by now…Family is always 1st for me and even thought I thought that I would be able to blog sooner…it simply did not happen!

At the end of the post I will share with you some pictures of what I have been up to…but in short, John and I went to Seattle to get our Hannah settled in her new “home” for the next 5+ years….talk about being on the other side of the country….mission was accomplished and it was wonderful to see her happy and content with the next chapter in her life!

Before we get going on today’s card of inspiration that I have for you….I have some GREAT NEWS…..

ALL OF THE HOLIDAY SHARES ARE OUT THE DOOR!!!

I must admit, I was super happy and I did do a “happy dance” myself as I did not get back from Seattle until last Thursday and yes, we pulled down Randall Lane and there they were….Stampin’ Up! boxes waiting for me. I expedited the shipping as if not….I know that it would be too darn long for you to get them…so I was super happy that there was..MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I will NOT be doing another wave of this Holiday Product Share as I am really trying to implement some new offerings to my blogging (and trust me, all of this takes a BUNCH OF TIME) but there is more GOOD NEWS…..I have a couple of shares left and at the end of the post I will share with you what they are….they are READY TO BE MAILED TODAY so as the saying goes….early bird will get the worm!

WHEW….lets get to the card!

The new Holiday Catalog was launched last Wednesday…..CLICK HERE to see it in it’s entirely or you can CLICK HERE and see the new kids on the block….by catalog (ie…stamps, bundles etc)…and with just about the month of September already here…..this catalog is going to ZOOM BY FAST!

You know that I love to design clean and simply cards and todays card is from the Bundle Falling for Leaves. Remember…when you purchase a bundle…you will get an automatic 10% discount! I did purchase this as a bundle as I felt that the framelits being offered were pretty darn special!

I used another newbie, the Country Lane DSP. It is funny…new DSP papers are just like new stamps to me…it takes a while to get used to them. After cutting so much paper over the weekend I really got to know them better and in turn…I was able to think ahead in how I would like to use them! I love the fact that we have double-sided paper….always something for everyone!

This Blackberry Bliss crosshatch print is a great one fro so many different cards that we like to make…from Birthdays….to Sympathies…to just a quick Think of You Card like I am doing today! When you break it down…it really uses a minimal about of products and this also is one that you could easily make many of to have on hand!

I went with a monochromatic look today but you easily know that the sky is the limit with the choices we have in dsp and colors of ink & cardstock! Can you easily see that this is one of those “FORMULAS” that I love to share with you! YEP, it is and YEP, I will give you the measurements for you to easily duplicate!

I would go ahead and make this card today even if you do not have the Falling for Leaves Bundle yet as MAKING IT….is the BEST WAY for you to walk through the steps that I will outline below and then make notes of reference for you to make over and over again. It truly is just as simple as that!

• Card Base is Thick Very Vanilla Cardstock in an A-2 size, 4 1/4″ X 5 1/2″

• Layer of Very Vanilla just 1/8″ smaller, 4 1/8″ X 5 3/8″ (WHY do I do this? Easy, I love layers and I love the fell of a solid card. Also, I do not like seeing the mechanics of a card when you  open it….this will make sense in the next bullet point!)

• Score at 1/8″, 1’4″, 1 1/4″, 1 3/8″ and 1 1/2″ I use the Simply Scored Board for my scoring on all of my cards as I feel like it gives a much deeper impression than using our trimmer. This IS one of those BASIC TOOLS that I always talk about that makes the journey of cardmaking easier…..you know me, I always try to be upfront and very honest with what makes me tick! If you have the Simply Scored Board maybe these might be easier for you to score in this way….score at notches 1,2 10,11 & 12!

• Cut your DSP to 3/4″ X 6″ and adhere it in between the scored lines! This in ITSELF make a HUGE WOW….don’t you think?

• Cut 3 Stitched Squares  – another BASIC MUST HAVE to the size that will fit your sentiment and adhere one flat to the base and then pop up the other 2. I like to angle the squares differently as I think it provides more interest!

• I cut 3 dies from the Falling Leaves Bundle….I just adore the details that Stampin’ Up! did with them and then I tucked them in with a simple glue dot, darn I love those little things!

• The icing on this super card was to use a galvanized button with a sweet touch of linen thread to add a wee bit of simple bling. I used the glue dots again to hold it in place! (You know that I do not use buttons often but these are SUPER as they are not only super thin,,,the subtle texture it gives is PERFECT in my simple eyes!)

• Envelope LOVE….simple! I took the same theme of the scoring with a scrap piece of Very Vanilla and score it 3 times, adhered it and then added the DSP under it and trimmed off the excess!

Well, there you go! I know that my posts are super long but it is super important to me to give you all of the info needed for you to make it yourself. Remember….I am JUST LIKE YOU….as if something is clear to me I can attempt to try it myself and again, I am like you…being able to accomplish something….it is a WIN-WIN feeling of “I CAN DO IT” inside!

Why do we do this to ourselves?…we can do anything that we want to do if it is understood, clear and concise! There is no reason that when we sit down to ever feel frustrated.

I know that I was actually feeling like I had a creative block and I was frustrated with myself…..and then I did what works best for me….WALK AWAY from it….do something totally different and then come back and say – just do it! In the end, it always comes back to the basics of being clean and simple!

The next couple of pictures show you what I do when I get a new stamp and bundle. I purchase my magnetic cards from Stamp N Storage and YEP, it is an investment but what the heck about this crafty thing that we do that is NOT AN INVESTMENT!?

If I have something that retires and if I sell it (that’s why I always put so much info on the labels that I create) as it saves me a bunch of time looking through catalogs to see what I paid for it (I sell all of my retired products at 50% of the retail price)

In the 2nd picture you will see the shapes I cut out….I started to do this and ad them to the back of the magnetic card and if it gets retired…no biggie, I just peel off the white piece and reuse the magnetic card. I think that it makes such a BIG DIFFERENCE to actually SEE THE IMAGES cut out…..I find that I am more like;y to use them more!

Now to the Product Shares that I have left! While we were flying to Seattle I worked on what it was that I needed to order so when the GREEN LIGHT went on last Wednesday…..I could order and be ready! Here are the items that I have left and ready to ship today to you if you are interested!

Share #1 DSP Swatch Books – SOLD OUT

Share #2 new DSP – I have 1 to sell

Share #3 Glimmer Paper – I have 2 to sell

Share #4 Ribbon -SOLD OUT

Share #5 Embellishments – I have 1 to sell

Add On Share #1 – TONS of them available….this is my 4th re-order of them

Add On Share #2 – I have 1 of them to sell

Please email me and put in the subject line PRODUCT SHARE so I can spot it and I will go to Pay Pal and invoice you and ship it out. I am here getting (hopefully) caught up on a bunch of emails and will be doing the Post Office RUN right before they close at 5!

You can CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SHARE OFFERINGS….(a previous post) – Shares ARE the best way to take advantage of getting a taste of the newbies without breaking your Daisy Bank……speaking on my little doodle daisy bug…..she is GREAT and loves and appreciates her pedicure!

Now to Hannah….my little Red Caboose has moved to Seattle Washington to start working on her PHD in Molecular Cellular Biology with the University of Washington and the Fred Hutch Research Institute. That in itself you can clearly see that she get “that stuff” from her Dad….darn, I have a hard time even getting it out!

We are both very proud and excited for her. She works super hard and loves the field of research. I think that we can all agree….our world needs more and more medical research and I have witness first hand the power and importance it is.

She has 2 roommates that are also just starting this venture and I think with my MAMA BEAR GUT INSTINCT that these girls will be a perfect match for one another…..I just have a hard time relating to all of the “talk that they do”…..but I will say – ONE OF THEM IS SUPER CRAFTY…so I beamed…..

Each one of the girls came from different areas….Hannah – Maryland, Kansas and South Africa but one thing they had in common was they each came with NO FURNITURE……so as you can see…we rented BIG RED to do the job!

Hannah had basically her life in her suitcases….we took full advantage of Southwest and we each took 2 bags that could be check in plus 3 carry ons….it was a hoot – one suitcase had all of her favorite kitchen stuff….one had pictures that made it great…….another all of her favorite bedding….etc….so you can see….we were a HUGE help to her!

You will laugh…there was an IKEA there so naturally I made sure that John had some great nibbles and libation….and I left and did the FUN STUFF….like the Container Store run and the Grocery Store……You have to admit, there is always methods to ones madness!

I am pretty slick at parallel parking and for those of you that know how narrow and tight parking is in Seattle….I whipped Big Red into even the tiniest spaces….I have had lots of practice with our truck and trailer!

Lastly….my sweet daughter. I know that many of you will “GET THIS”! Do you remember taking your kids picture before they went off to the 1st day?!?! Well….I was super surprised at when I said to Hannah before she went off for the day…..can I take your picture….she surprised me and smiled and then said…..I JUST KNEW THAT YOU WERE GOING TO ASK ME! Yep, I have trained her well!!!

Now here is a CLASSIC that my Mom did to me when I was a grasshopper…..she would take a picture of me getting on the school bus the 1st day and I CRINGED as we had a really big bus stop and no other Moms did that and then…..SHE HOPPED IN HER CAR…..and drove to the Elementary School and took a picture of me getting OFF THE DARN BUS MY FIRST DAY…….

I just you could say that I get my passion and love of my family honestly!

Have a great day and below you will find all of the products that I used for this great card! I hope to be back in your In-Box on Friday! It does feel great to have the Product Share behind me but trust me, my house needs some love and attention!

You know we have horses…..but I now have Hannah’s horse here – Stanley…(which I need to treat with extra special TLC)….we are hoping to get him leased out for the year as if not…this Mom is going to have to ride him daily to keep him in shape! The things we do for our kids….but I don’t mind, I am blessed to have the ability to do so!

Stampin’ hugs to you all and please know that when I am absent from your In-Box I am missing you as well. This crafting thing that we all do DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE and so do YOU!