BABY SHOWER THANKS

To get a better look, click on the picture. (Sorry, they are kind of fuzzy up close) Some awesome friends of mine threw me a baby shower today. These are the thank-yous I made.

This is the thank-you card that I will send to everyone who got me a gift. It is made using the nestabilities and Bitty Baby Blessings from Papertrey Ink. Doesn't it make the cutest bib card?

Here are the little gifts I made as thank-yous for my hostesses.

First is the gift bag. You might recognize this idea from my SU! Convention pictures. Way easy and so stinkin' CUTE! I used Nesties, once again, and the tag is the new square punch from SU!

Here is a Pumpkin Pie candle from Walmart that I just decorated with SU! rub-ons and SU! designer papers. I embossed the flower from SU!'s True Friend stamp set in white on Close to Cocoa cardstock and used a bigger brad in the center. The rub-ons were a little tricky to use on the candle. I think it turned out cute and it smells sooooo YUMMY!

Next, I decorated Hersheys nuggets with stamped labels using Limitless Labels from Papertrey Ink. That set is a MUST have! I used the same colors as the SU! papers. I used a frosted tin tie bag to put them in and then used the other flower from SU!'s True Friend stamp set to decorate the bag and used the Nesties. I put a pearl in the center of this flower.

The gifts are nothing special, but I hope they know how much I appreciated all that they did for me. I will hopefully have pictures from the shower to show you. There are some talented people in my ward and they made the cutest cake and diaper cake!

CRUISIN'

My two boys, Parker and JD, are the only ones at home right now. We inherited this little jeep from Grandpa Grout and they can't get enough of it! Aren't they the cutest?

Fortunately for me they get along very well. Parker is 3 going on 14 and quite the little man. This jeep is perfect for him. He feels so grown up.

Today I needed them to take a stinky diaper to the garbage but it was at the top of our driveway because today is garbage day. So off they go in the jeep to deliver it!

LOCKS OF LOVE

I am so proud of Emi. She has been growing out her hair to donate to Locks of Love, a charity group that makes wigs for people who have lost their hair due to cancer and other illness. She constantly asks me, "Is it long enough yet?" So today we went and got it cut!

I was a little worried that she might freak out after it was done when she realized it was really gone, but she was so happy. She LOVES it!

When her brother, Bryce, saw it for the first time, he said, "Wow, Emi! That looks GOOD! All the boys are going to like you at school." What a sweetie. :)

For anyone who is interested, check out http://www.locksoflove.org/ They have the guidelines and other information there. The address is :

Locks Of Love

2925 10th Avenue North, Suite 102

Lake Worth, FL 33461

DISPLAY BOARDS

Click on any image to enlarge it. There was so much inspiration to be found. These are just a few of my favorites. I took tons more pictures......

This was an example of what you could do with the new sizzix dies that SU! carries. This isn't the finished project.

I loved the simplicity of the one layer with Lovely as a Tree and the shadowing in the background.

I focused in on the misty tree background. They added sparkle to make it look like it had just snowed. STUNNING!

Some awesome Artisan of the year award winner projects. I loved the shirt and the purse.

Some cute bags made with our 12x12 CS and using a cornflake box as a template. The giant cupcake is AWESOME! They took some white craft ink and added some reinkers to make it look like real frosting swirls. Too cute!

This one shows a vinyl bag made with the jumbo eyelets and interchangeable papers to coordinate throughout the seasons of the year. The onsie gift bag is so stinkin' cute and easy. Now why didn't I think of that?

Two more artisan projects. I LOVED these scrapbook pages. Actually, I would probably frame these. They are too gorgeous.

So hopefully these tickle your creative bone like they did mine!

SNEAK PEEK

Here are the pictures of some of the new sets. These were the sets we got for attending Convention. The First picture, however, is my awesome new TOTE. Only people attending convention could purchase one. It holds TONS of stamping supplies and even 12x12 cardstock. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!!

This next picture, is a fun technique we learned for one of our make-n-takes. It is the new 1-1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Pink Pirouette (In Color) with linen thread sewn into one edge. Then you just pull the thread to make it round. We also applied crystal effects to the edge and sprinkled with chunky glitter. The center is a rub-on. Very cute.

This is my favorite set, Inspired By Nature. you can see how it is double mounted. It also comes with two phrases that are double mounted. So many possiblities with this set.

This set is called Eastern Blooms. I LOVE the branch in this set. Can you see the possibilites using the three for you flower punch from last year?

Here is the new butterfly set. I love the overlays that go with the bold butterfly image. Lots of fun techniques you can do with this. It is called Flight of the Butterfly.

This last set is one that was an extra bonus from UPS! We apparently give them a lot of business so for SU!'s 20th Anniversary they bought everyone at Convention this Ronald McDonald House Charity stamp set. $2 from every sale goes to the charity. This set coordiantes with the new scallop punch in the catalog! YAY!

Stay tuned for cards and projects from the display boards. AWESOME inspiration.

OTHER CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

Here is a picture I took right before we left on vacation. A double rainbow! It was a good sign.
First we went to Idaho to pick up my parents. While we were there, we bought a couple of used mini four-wheelers. Then we went to Montana for a family reunion. After that we headed to Utah. Rob spent the time with his siblings and I went to Convention. I got to spend some time with them after I was done and of course, we played Pinochle!

This is me with my upline, Mary Buenger and her upline, Judy D. Her last name is too hard to spell and even harder to pronounce. :0) The next picture is a shot of a fraction of the people that were there.

These were our beautimous make-n-takes! The first one shows the set "Inspired By Nature" one of my favorites. It is double mounted. This also uses the In colors, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss.

This one shows the Eastern Blooms set. These make-n-takes don't show the full potential of this set. It is beautiful.

This is a card using a new butterfly set! We didn't use the butterfly in this project, though. I also showed some of the new accessories. The flower brads, the flower buttons, and the new flower fusion too in three new colors.

Here are some of my favorite projects using the new decor elements rub-ons. I am going to be making them for my house. FUN!

The awards night always has the best entertainment afterwards. This year it was an A Capella group named Tonic Sol-Fa. They were AWESOME! I loved the base singers deep voice. He is in the sun glasses. The lead singer looks like Jason Bateman, only with blond hair. The guy sitting next to him with the glasses on is hilarious! We bought their CDs and got autographs.

I have tons of other photos of projects that were displayed at convention, but I don't want this post to get too long. Convention is the highlight of my year! There are great classes, ideas and friends. It is very uplifting personally as well. Anyone interested in joining me next year?

CONVENTION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Back from Convention and it was a BLAST! My feet were constantly swollen, but it was worth it. Several BIG announcements were made at convention. Click on any of the photos to enlarge.

1. Shelli Gardner is starting her very own blog. Go to www.soshelli.com to get the scoop!

2. Biggest news of all is that Stampin' Up! is partnering with SIZZIX and will be selling exclusive die-cuts that will coordinate with other Stampin' Up! products. You will even be able to cut your own vinyl shapes to make your own rub-ons. Here were some of the projects demonstratd by Shelli. The dies and the Big Shot machine will be sold in the next mini catalog!

3. Of course the Online Ordering will be available in the fall. A couple things about this. You will be able to shop using different categories ( Paper, accessories, and even by color).

4. The New Decor Elements will be rolling out Phase II. It will feature two and three steps rub-ons in different colors!