JoyOfStamping

I cannot believe how fast time flies by.  Wasn’t it only last week that “New Moon” came out?  How has it already been a month?

 I’m still recovering from the rush at eP from tim holtz’s 12 tags of Christmas.  And I am still on a high from spending last week in Prescott, AZ at tim’s Holiday Hideway.  How am I so fortunate to be able to attend such an amazing event?  BUT….. dorky me….. I didn’t bring a camera!  ARGH!  I couldn’t find it…. and with the crazy rush, I couldn’t take the time to look for it….. I debated just buying another one….. but decided I can just “enjoy” the moment and then enjoy other people’s pictures!

So, my here are some of my GHETTO pix from my cell phone camera!  LOL! 

When we got to the hotel, this was the sign to the room that held all of the “magic”.  This is where most of the fun happened.

After a 6 hour drive, it was nice to be greeted by Aunty Pearl, who had the room next door.  She had her Blue Moon ready to go.  Glad it was already chilled when I got there!

This was our cute place setting at our tables.

The fun started right away and this was our first project.

This was our next project.  I didn’t get a chance to take a pic of mine, but this was tim’s.  We got to play with lots of Idea-ology goodies.

Throughout the weekend, tim gave us many many fun gifts.  Every time “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” would play, the elf at each table to would get up and follow tim around to get our “brown paper packages tied up with string”.  These were a few of tim’s favorite things.  Hmmmmm…. what could be in this package?  Could it be SPARKLY FLUFF?

Tim could be mid-sentence and the song would just start playing and everyone would get so excited….. This gift was too big to wrap….. and see all of our cute elves?  We had Ted Cutts as our elf. 

That bag was filled with glue to last a looooooong time! :)  (Hmmmmm….. must be morning….. I see a mimosa back there)

Which reminds me….. what is better than just inking?  Inking and Drinking.  LOL!  I forgot the name of this drink (something elf), but the “Ink and Drink” girls made sure that no one was thirsty.  Just ring that bell and they will have a drink to you in no time!  They were awesome!

But, what could be better than the gifts and drinking?  (I know… hard to imagine that there could be anything better)  Creating…… tim shared with us his personal stash of goodies…..

And there were A LOT of goodies…….

to create a shadow box that inspires our creativity.  This one is tim’s.  I didn’t a get a pic of mine….. but let’s just say that there is an “E” and a “J”…. one is sparkly and one is fluffy.  There was film strip ribbon and other inspiring things from Twilight!

But, what was even better than creating…. was learning and hanging out.  We were able to go shopping and then hang out tim’s studio.  He is such an inspiration.

Thank you tim, Michele, and Mario (MJ) for an AMAZING time.  It was one of the best weekends EVER!

There are some other blogs out there that have pix from the hideaway.  Be sure to check out Debby Schuh (covered over several blog posts),  Nancy Wethington (covered over several blog posts),  and Margaret.

And I am soooooooo excited about the new products tim has coming for CHA.  Check out his blog for some sneak peaks!

Happy Holidays!

Got home from watching New Moon just a few hours ago!  What a BLAST!

I was so honored when Tonya asked me to join the New Moon Blog Hop on Twilight Tuesday as a Guest Designer.  Here is a card I created using the “For-bitten” set from Our Craft Lounge.

I used Glossy Accents and Sparkles for the Fangs.  I used Sparkly Fluff for the Fur.  Here is a close up.

I created the “background”paper with all of the cool stamps Debbie Corbari created.

Check out all of the awesome creations from the people listed here.

Now be sure to hop on over to Alison’s blog for more New Moon inspiration!

Ok…. so you gotta tell me…. Fangs or fur?   Which Team are you on?  And did you see/are you going to see New Moon this weekend?

I sure hope you’ve been having fun checking out what everyone has been sharing for Our Craft Lounge’s New Release.  I’m here to share a set called Hearts & Hugs.  

Check out this “red hot” sample! :)  I just love the chunky red sparkles with this.

Ready to WIN this set? Leave me a comment and let me know which set is your favorite from this release.  The winner will be drawn tonight (November 20th) at 9pm pacific time (11:59 eastern time).  Good luck!

Here are the HOPPERS ~

Bird and Groom - Beth
Hang it Up Cupid - Carol, Vicki
Hearts & Hugs - Holly, me
The Journey - Charmaine
Life Is -Amber
Love Notes - Heather, Beate
Out for a Spin - Pam
Fairy Dust is a Must - Cami, Broni
Granny’s Truffles - Val
Jungle Love - Deb, Kendra
Shamrock Blessings -Cindy
Sweet on You -Kisa
Wanted - Lila

Good luck!

 Well, its day 2 of the OCL Sneak Peeks.  Hope you enjoyed the peeks from yesterday!  If you haven’t seen them, be sure to check them out.

Today, I am pleased to share this set called Love Notes created by our illustrator Debbie Corbari.  It is just such a beautiful set!

Check out the yummy Eyeliner Black Sparkles.  And I just love the delicious paper from My Mind’s Eye.

Be sure to check out what the other talented ladies have created:

Bird and Groom  - Beth

Hang it Up Cupid –  Lila

Hearts & Hugs – Holly, Kendra

The Journey – Charmaine, Beate

Life Is – Charmaine, Beate

Love Notes – Kisa, Joy

Out for a Spin – Carol

Fairy Dust is a Must – Kendra , Vicki

Granny’s Truffles - Broni

Jungle Love – Heather

Shamrock Blessings – Pam

Sweet on You – Cami

Wanted – Kisa

The blog hop starts tomorrow & there will be a list on the OCL Blog. Also, don’t forget that we are still having the OCL Birthday Bash Challenge this week with all kinds of wonderful prizes (including a $100 gift certificate!).

Come join the fun!

Sneak peeks of the OCL Valentine Release start today! Click here to get all the details about the release and the Blog Hop Friday.  

This set is called Jungle Love.  It’s illustrated by Marianne Walker.  You will be able to see the entire set on Friday. 

I can’t take credit for this adorable card.  My dear business partner, Cambria Turnbow created this cute card! :)  I wish I had more time to play…..

Check out The Lounge for all the details, and if you’d like to see  Sneak Peeks from other new sets, check out these great designers!  I’m very excited about this release. Lots of cute things!

Bird and Groom  - Cindy, Kisa
Hang it Up Cupid - Heather
Hearts & Hugs - Deb
The Journey - Kendra
Life Is - Kendra
Love Notes - Pam
Out for a Spin - Lila, Vicki
Fairy Dust is a Must - Carol
Granny’s Truffles - Pam
Jungle Love -  Joy Charmaine,
Shamrock Blessings - Holly
Sweet on You - Amber
Wanted - Beth, Carol Cambria

Wow, can you believe it’s been one year already?  What an amazing first year!  We could not have done it without all of you!  Thank you SO much for your support!  We’ve got a lot going on here at OCL this month and we don’t want you to miss out!  Come and join us for all the fun!

First… we are having a Scavenger Hunt and a bunch of Challenges with tons of fun prizes.   Here are a few things you can look forward to starting Friday, November 13th!  Make sure you check in at The Lounge for all the details that day!

Scavenger Hunt

•  Friday, Nov. 13th (6am Pacific Time) – Sunday, Nov. 15th (Midnight Pacific Time)– winner will be posted on Monday Nov. 16th.
•  There will be a list of questions posted on both the OCL Blog and in the OCL Forum.  There will be a total of 15 questions.
•  You will be provided with an e-mail to send your answers to.
•  There will be a first place winner and a randomly selected honorary winner.

Challenges Game

•   Monday, (6am Pacific Time) Nov. 16th – Friday, Nov. 20th (midnight Pacific time) – winner  will be posted on Saturday, November 21st
•   Each challenge will be assigned points – Heather will be tracking points.
•   Everyone who plays will post to SCS (keyword OCL1YR) and/or the OCL Forum.
•   Projects can have multiple challenges within – and the player would be given all appropriate points.
•   There will be one Grand Prize winner who will receive a Gift Certificate to OCL for $100!!!

Grand prize winner will receive $100.00 gift certificate to Our Craft Lounge!!

Second… we are releasing our 2009 Valentine Release!  As always, we’ll have a huge blog hop where you can see the release and win the stamp sets!  We will be giving away at least one of each new set!

November Valentine Release & Sneak Peeks – 11/18 to 11/20/09

•   Sneak Peek Days – Wed, Nov 18th & Thurs, Nov 19th
•   Blog Hop – Friday, Nov 20th

As always, we will still be hosting our Monthly Sketch Challenge - the winner will be drawn on November 26, 2009.  The winner will be able to select any OCL stamp set of her/his choice.  Check out THE FORUM for this fun monthly challenge.

Mark your calendar, bookmark The Lounge, warm up that mouse pad!  We can’t wait to celebrate with you!  Feel free to forward this email to friends and family, we don’t want anyone to miss these fun OCL events!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very fun and SAFE Halloween! :)  I can’t believe how fast time flies by.  It’s already Halloween?

Here is a card using OCL’s Spooky Nights:

(close up of the Sparkly Fluff and Sparkles)

Have a great day!

WOW!  What an experience!!!!  So much work… but so much fun!  The experience was amazing.  Just wanted to share some pix I took…. sure wish I took more. (Click on any of the images for a slightly larger view)

 This is a picture of our Make and Take Table.  Cami, Marianne Walker, and Debbie Olson rocked with showing very cool coloring techniques.

 Kimberly rocked it, too! :)  Isn’t she just the cutest?

How fun was it to see our stamps in the store.  Here are my co-owners with me. (Kimberly, Me and Cami)

It was great to see some of my favorite vendors.  Nicole from Imaginisce is just too cute.  And it was great having a table right next to Fancy Pants.  I was able to trash talk about sports with Jared.  Him and his adorable wife are the owners of Fancy Pants.

Everyone from Archiver’s was so helpful and so sweet.  Amy was one of my favorites.  She always went above and beyond to make sure that we had whatever we needed.  We *heart* Amy!

We got to meet a lot of cool customers.  There were a few that we ran into quite a bit.  Natalie was everywhere… even the bathroom.  She named herself the Bathroom Stalker.  Her and her mom were so cute!

But, the best part of the trip was hanging out with friends.  Having dinner with everyone and even meeting the sweetest waitress that made you smile every time you looked at her.  She was so great that we had to go back the next night to see her again! :)  Boom Boom and Blue cheese all around!

 I am already looking forward to next year!

It’s crazy to think that a year has already gone by since Taylor Released her first stamp sets?  I remember that fun day of getting together with her a few friends packing orders.  I think I got the most “extra credit” points that day…. yeah, I’m Taylor’s favorite…. jk! :)  I’m so proud of what she has accomplished.  What an amazing girl!

(my aplogizies for the bad picture…. of course there was no natural light when I finished my project.  LOL!  I’ll re-take and re-upload! Ü)

The Places You’ll Go is the 3rd stamp set in The Taylored Expressions Giving Tree Program designed to donate proceeds to a different charity each quarter. For each The Places You’ll Go stamp set sold during September, October, November, Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 to the Books for Kids Foundation: http://www.booksforkidsfoundation.org/. Note: This set is the same deeply etched rubber you have come to love! However, in order to cut down on manufacturing costs and donate more to charity, The Places You’ll Go set will need to be trimmed when the customer receives it.

Happy Birthday Cuppie and Stamp a Sweet Impression! :)  To celebrate, check out some other girls with some other awesome samples:

Bonnie Sharp www.theluckyclucker.blogspot.com

Cambria Turnbow www.cambriaturnbow.blogspot.com

Carolina Buchting http://creativepad.typepad.com/

Debbie Olson http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/

Jenn Balcer http://jbalcer.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Joy Kennedy  http://joyofstamping.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Lori Craig  http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Sherrie Siemens http://sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com/

Every year, there is one thing I look forward to most during my summertime….. and that is the annual shistah retreat in Chippewa Falls, WI.  These friends are some of the most amazing people you will ever meet!!!!  I am so fortunate to have friends like them.  They are there for me through thick and thin.

 Check out this AWESOME digi page that my friend Fabby put together. She taught a digi scrapbooking class and I am so scared that I am gonna get hooked on it.

She also made this cool one of Daisy and me!

We played with Ten Seconds Studio stuff.  Look what MY made.

Here are 2 of my crazy roommates from the “Party Room” and two of the girls from “Kookie’s Kupcake’s” (yes, possessive) reapplying lipstick!

Can’t wait until next year!