Ladystamper

I have been doing a lot of work with My Digital Studio program. It is so fun and easy to use! I did a calendar for my inlaws that I will be sharing, but in the mean time, here is a quick page I did tonight while I was on the phone with a friend. How cool is that? It is a picture of my youngest son Ben, taken with a blackberry phone. Seriously, what is the world coming to? We are living in the future!! My favorite part of this page, besides the totally cute picture of my boy, is the vintage overlay I used on the edges to give it the sponged look. There are lots of different choices in the VO packet and it is super cheap! You can check it out in the shopping section of my website www.beckiecarlson.stampinup.net Enjoy!

You won't believe this but....I've lost my camera again. I think I have a disgruntled house elf that keeps taking things....and he obviously never cleans. So, I am stuck with my phone camera for pictures. This one is a bit dark....that's what you get from the stampin dungeon at my house.... Anyway, here is my card that was inspired by the card I posted yesterday. I think it turned out kind of cute and...inspired me to keep stamping! So, all around it was a success! I used: Jolly Holiday DSP 2-1/2" circle punch two-step bird punch owl punch and the large label punch Contempo Christmas and Christmas bingo stamps Old Olive and Real red ink Real red satin ribbon and a single clear rhinestone I find it easiest to put the owl together using the 2-way glue pen. paper: chocolate chip, vanilla, real red I am planning a Christmas card class. Do you want to come?? Shoot me an email or leave a comment with suggestions and requests. Not that I'll use them...but I like to read s

Hello again! Sorry for the extremely long absence from my blog...I have been writing and going to school so, not just lazing around! With the holidays approaching, it is almost impossible for me not to be stamping. Christmas cards, thank you cards, Holiday projects....my craft room is no longer whispering a call, it is shouting at me! Come stamp! Come create! If you are like me, you sometimes need a jump start to your creativity. I start by looking in my Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog and then shoot over to the website, and then to some of my favorite blogs. I saw this adorable sample at my upline Kimber's house. It is super easy and cute! It uses background paper (DSP) as well as punches! An easy way to make something quick and easy and get those creative juices flowing. I will be using this card as my inspiration for stamping today. Check back tomorrow to see what I came up with! maybe you can play along as well. Just a hint.....it MIGHT be worth your while to play along.

The big shot has really revolutionized the swappin business at Stampin' Up! events. Instead of having to cut out tiny little things, and deciding it is way too hard, we can now use this awesome tool and crank out tons of intricate looking swaps in no time! I love it! This swap uses a die that I have, but haven't actually used yet. I love the way the artist used it on here! I am talking about the Lattice Die in the background. The bird and branch are also dies. Great color combo too! This card was made by Karen Kurz from Albuquerque, NM. In other news, my second oldest, Jared, turned 16 today. wow. These things just sneak up on me! He is a wonderful young man. He is one of the most honest and trustworthy people I know. I have no doubt that he will do good things in his life. He has some troubles, just like we all do, but he is diligent in choosing the right. I admire him so much for that. He has had a hard time missing his dad, but has been a rock for me. I am grateful for him!

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I had a wonderful day. My kids were mostly good, my house was mostly clean, choir went mostly okay, and our surprise birthday party for my sister was mostly wonderful! The only drawback to the day was the lack of my sweetheart. sigh, I do miss him. Some days more than others. I did get a wonderful note from a friend sharing some memories of him. That made my day! I wanted to share a sweet "friend" card, in honor of my best friend. This card was made by Glenda Calkins from Minnisota. I love the colors she used and the way she cut out the flowers and layered them to give the card depth. This is a really cute set and very versatile. Make a card for YOUR best friend today. I think I will.....:o)

I have noticed that someone has been leaving less than desireable comments on my blog. Therefore, as much as I hate to do it, I am going to have to start moderating the comments left. I hate to do it, but don't want nasty things on my blog. Thank you to all that leave wonderful comments! I appreciate them! To those that leave nasty things.....shame, shame on you. Get a life.

For those that are attempting to watch my little video, just go down to my playlist and push pause first. Then the music will stop so you can hear my witty comentary.....;o) B

I did a demo for my Stampin' Up! upline Kimber, at her meeting last month. I loved the paper flowers that Jan McClurg showed us at regional last month and just had to try them! I wanted to share the idea with my own downline across the country so, Kimber helped me out by being the cameraman, or woman. :o) I have not been trained in how to be in front of a camera...and even less so in how to edit a video! So, here it is...raw and natural....Hopefully it will inspire you to try your own paper flowers. They are really fun to make! If I don't do a horrid job and you'd like to see me demo something else, let me know! I'm sure I'll 'get better' at this thing....;o) I

Okay, so this card has nothing to do with Mary Poppins, but something about the flowers reminds me of that movie. My sister watch Mary Poppins 24/7 when she was little. I"m not kidding! If she went out of the room, we would turn it off and try to take a break and no matter where she was in the house...she would run in and demand that it be put back on. It is funny now.... This is one of the cards we made at the swap I participated in at leadership. The colors are a bit out of my comfort zone, but I loved the flowers. All we did to make them was to tear out 'circles' in the different colors of cardstock, rough them up and round the edges. It took some time, and my fingers got a bit worn out, but they turned out looking pretty cool! The credit for this awesome idea goes to Lisa Kim. Thanks for sharing!

As you may or may not know, I started my first ever guitar class this week. I was so excited! It is just fun fun fun!! I'm hoping I can actually learn it well. The first day in class, I noticed that almost half the class had the exact same guitar case. Yeah, that could be a recipe for disaster! So, I came home and put a Manhattan vinyl flower on mine. I guarantee nobody else will take my guitar home by mistake! At first, the vinyl didn't really want to stick, but I think it is because it is so wet here right now. Once I got it on, it isn't coming off easy. The cool thing.....it matches my car! Love it!! I may use my big shot to cut out my name too and put that on there....we shall see..... :o) Beckie

i am back in school and having sooo much fun! It is such an awesome thing to be back in a learning environment. I truly love it. I wonder if I will become a professional student....I may never want to leave! We shall see.... I finished this page today for my calendar. I know, it should be done by now, but I just work on it now and then so it taking longer than it really should. This is the June page. Mae's birthday is in June, so she is the star. I am learning more and more about My Digital Studio each time I use it. I love that I can change colors and the opaqueness of images....is that a word? It is raining and raining here....I may need to rent a boat to get the kids to school tomorrow! I can't believe it....it's been raining non stop for like, three days. amazing! I almost feel like I'm back in Florida! I may have exciting pictures to share tomorrow...Val is finally coming to paint my wall purple! Can't wait! cross your fingers....:o)

As I was thinking about My Digital Studio...while I drove my kids all over creation, I had a brain storm. I know...this will not be a new idea for many if not ALL of you out there, but it was for me. I realized that I could make anything I wanted on there! I didn't have to use a template, or anything! I decided to start with my pictures and build a page just like I would do a traditional scrap page. I absolutely LOVE what I ended up with !! Even with pictures of myself on there. This is for my April page of my calendar...and my birthday is in April so...it made sense. I mean, this calendar is for the whole family, not just me so....anyway! It is important to put yourself in your albums too. I know most of us moms are behind the camera and not in many pictures, but we need to work on that! Me included! So, here is my page. Everything on here is from My Digital Studio. I love that I can use buttons and brads and ribbons and stitching and....I never have to get up from my computer! AN

I have been having a lot of fun with My Digital Studio. This little page is one that I did using some older pictures of my kids...when they were younger and sweeter....ah,memories.... It was a pretty quick layout to do. I used a premade template and picked my colors and embellishments. I love that I can make things any size I want. The brad in the middle of the flower was tiny and I stretched it nice and big to fill in the flower. It is really a cool program to play with! This is the March page for my 2010 calendar....I'm hoping to finish it before January is over! We shall see.....

and I am loving it!! There is just so much you can do with this thing! It is truly amazing. I don't know half of it yet, but I'm having loads of fun figuring it out. I am not one to really read directions, so I am just playing and learning and trying different things. Here is the February page for my calendar-in-progress. My son Jared has his birthday in February, so he is the main star here. Check out the cool words on the arrows....yeah, I'm feeling pretty proud that I figured that out all on my own.....hey, if I can do it, ANYBODY can do it! This program is totally user friendly!! If you are interested in playing with My Digital Studio, be sure to come to my scrappin night on January 23rd at 6:30. I will have a regular (tradition) 12 x 12 layout available for you to make for $10 as well as several cards for $1 each. I will also have my laptop out with My Digital Studio on it for you to see. I might even have my calendar done by then so you can see a finished one. We sha

Stampin' Up! knows us so well...check out this cute little logo they put on the shipping boxes during SALEABRATION. I love it! And, yes, it did cause extreme excitement when I opened it! So much yummy stuff in there....I may hide in my craft room and stamp all day and totally ignore my kids! LOL Wouldn't you like a box like this at your house??? let's book your workshop! :o) I also wanted to share my all time favorite swap from leadership this year. It is sooo adorable! The only problem is that the artist didn't put it into a clear envelope and it got a bit ripped on one side. I love it when people use the clean envelopes. I usually do but I was out! That is probably what happened to this talented demonstrator as well. Credit goes to....Susan Dempsey. She used: whimsical words sweet pea DSP sweet pea stiched felt rose red, pretty in pink, whisper white & Chocolate chip cardstock chocolate chip ink old olive 5/8" satin ribbon big shot die Top Note and backgroun

LOL Got your attention, didn't I? At leadership last week we had the opportunity to purchase lots of fun logo items. I picked up several of these vinyl Stampin' Up! logos with the idea of using them for downline gifts or crafts. That very day, we came back to my house and I made up this adorable frame. I just 'happened' to have a 12 x 12 frame in my craft closet....okay, I admit it! I am a total frame junkie! I have loads of them in all different sizes and colors! You just never know when you will need to frame something..... Anyway! I love how this turned out! Let me tell you how I did it. First, I took the back off the frame and put in a piece of the Flower Fantast Printed Window sheets (#115705) which I trimmed down to 11 x 11 to fit, into the frame. Then I put a piece of gable green 11 x 11 cardstock on top of that. Replace the frame back and done! Next I put the vinyl sticker on the outside of the glass and then embellished the edges. The ribbon it just wrapped aro

This past week was leadership conference and a regional here in Phoenix. I had two awesome downline members come to join me for the events. Shari and Stephanie (yes, I felt like they needed to call me Shiela to fit in....) came from states away and even stayed at my house! We had loads of fun learning lots of wonderful busines s tips as well and incredibly creative new ways to use our beloved Stampin' Up! products. It always amazes me at the new things people come up with. I remember when I first started with Stampin' Up! and it was all about making cards. Then we added a bit of home decor, scrap booking, fabric stamping, tattoo kits.....now we are into fabric, sewing, vinyl, car decor, jewelry, quilting....it just doesn't stop! This company is so perfect for me. I love crafting of all kinds and .... it is all here! My mind is just spinning with all the new stuff I want to try. I am so glad that I have another week off before my school starts so I can really get some projec