WAY TOO LONG...

since my last post!  So sorry everyone.  It's become extremely busy around here with school in full swing, after school activities pulling us in every direction, and sick kids on top of it all.  Not much time to stamp lately.  Then I remembered that parents were asked to include a special Halloween treat in their kids' snacks today (we can't have actual parties or celebrate with goodies for the class anymore).  So, last night, after everyone was in bed (so I thought), I decided to pull out my cellophane bags, a few Skittles, and my punches.  Not very fancy, but I think the girls will be excited when they open their lunchboxes today:

The funniest part of all this?  My parents had given the girls a bag of Halloween candy filled with Skittles and Starbursts earlier in the day.  Excellent, since these are some of the few peanut free candies that can go to school but I never have in the house. I had just filled the bags and was in another room makinig the Frankenstien heads when I heard my oldest daughter Stephanie asking if I had stolen their candy to make these bags.  Absolutely not I replied.  Why would I do such a thing?  I'm hoping she'll see the humor in this when she opens her lunchbox at snack :)

Freshly Made Sketches #5

I was invited to participate in a "Demonstrator Quality" Christmas Card swap this year.  With only about a week left to get them in the mail, I thought I'd use the Freshly Made Sketches challenge #5 for my layout.  Good thing, too because this day is flying by and I still have so much to do! At least I crossed two things off my list by making this one card.  So here's the sketch and my take on it:

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Sparkle & Shine wheel, Short & Sweet

Inks: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

Big Shot: Framed Tulips embossing folder

Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon, Jewels Basic Rhinestone

Featured Artist - 9 year old Stephanie

Today I spent some time guiding my daughter in creating a gift for a birthday party tonight.  Really all I did was point her in the direction of stamp sets.  She chose the colors and layout.  She was so proud of her creations, she asked if I'd put a picture on my blog. So without further ado, here it is:

Nicely done Stephanie!!  xoxo, Mom

Lots of FREEbies in October!

It's the start of a new month and that means NEW PROMOTIONS at Stampin' Up!  

For anyone interested in the perks of becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, how about this one...a FREE BIG SHOT!  If you have ever used this tool, you can see why this promo could be very tempting.

Maybe you're not interested in being a demonstrator but you are interested in simplifying the art of stamping. Maybe you don't have the time to pull out all your supplies but wish you could make a quick card.  With the Simply Sent card making kits there's no paper to cut, punches to use, or embellishments to coordinate.  Everything you need is packaged neatly in these kits. For this reason, they also make great gifts! "Simply" click on the widget to the right for more info!