JoyOfStamping

Every year, I get soooooooooo nervous before the trip…. and actually DURING the trip.  But, after it is all said and done, I can’t stop thinking about how much fun it was!!!!! King’s River Expedition puts on an amazing program.  The staff/guides are absolutely amazing.

The water was crazier than I have experienced.  And because it was the first hot day on Friday, it melted a lot of snow and the 2nd day was even CRAZIER.  Here are some pix from the first day.

Group Shot:

Front Row: Nephew Anthoni, Me, Brother-in-law Damon

Back Row: Dawn (she popped out of the raft at one point going down the rapids), Brother Jay, Guide Jason (he was a rookie), Kurt

Here are some pix from the rest of the day.  You can click on the images for larger view!

Can’t wait for next time…….

Well, as I sit at Disneyland waiting for a parade, I am so excited for what the weekend has in store for us! :)  Today is a perfect day…. Sun is out…. I’m at the happiest place on earth.  They are having a victory for Kobe and the Lakers.  What could be better than Lakers AND Disneyland? Being from SoCal and being a sports freak, I grew up watching Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers.

Here is a pic from my birthday party last year…..

Then, after the parade, we are heading to go white water rafting.  You can see more pix from this blog post…..

Wish me luck and hope I get back in one piece!  LOL!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Today is a special day for one of my dearest friends. It is Taylor VanBruggen’s Birthday.  Not only that, but is the start for her new adventure of working on Taylored Exppressions full time. What an exciting adventure for her. I wish her all the success.  I know she will succeed…. she is one of the sweetest, most caring, hardest working people I know.  I will miss hanging out with her here in Southern California.  She has been my support system many a times.  I know that she is only a phone call/e-mail away, but I can’t imagine not seeing her pretty face every so often.  I will miss hearing my nephew call her “tay-or”.  MAN!  I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about it…..  Please be sure to stop by her blog and wish her a happy birthday!

I used some of her CUTE images from the  “For the Love of Cupcakes” stamp set.  I know how much Taylor loves cupcakes! :)  I used some My Mind’s Eye Paper with some Basic Grey Buttons.  I colored the cupcake with Copic Markers,  added some Cotton Candy Sparkly Fluff to the frosting and Glossy Accents to the cherry.

This was a fun cupcake sketch challenge.  Be sure to check out Taylor’s blog for the fun sketch.  And have fun playing along!

Wanna win this cool Blog Candy?

We have had the awesome opportunity to get to know Wendy Vecchi, artist extraordinaire.  She has an amazing stamp line with Stamper’s Anonymous called Studio 490. We are so pleased to be working with her to bring you some of the coolest art inspirations.  Please be sure to check out her blog here for the details to the contest.  And be sure to browse her blog for AMAZING inspiration.

As Wendy says, “Make Art”.

Cambria and I have always been on the fence about having an “official” design team.  We have so many amazingly talented friends that we just couldn’t pick a few.  So, we were asking friends to help us with releases, samples, and help at our booth at CHA.  After going back and forth, we figured it was time to have an “official” design team.  All of these girls have helped us out so much in the past and we cannot thank them enough. We would like to introduce to you our design team:

Amber Hillman
Beth Silaika
Carol Halvorson
Charmaine Ikach
Cindy Lawrence
Deb Felts
Denise Marzec
Heather McNally
Holly McMillen
Kendra Wietstock
Kisa Peters
Lila Holgate
Pam Hooten
Valerie Stangle

And we want to thank Kendra for stepping up and being an AMAZING DT coordinator.  Thank you! Thank you!!!!

We also want you to check out some fun stuff going on at the OCL forum:(Thanks Heather for helping coordinate this!)

•  June Sketch Challenge
•  OCL 5 + 1 Swap
  

Come join the fun!

Well, I thought I was going to be showing you a sneak peek today of an eP exclusive called Hangin’ Loose with Kona.  But, to my surprise, it is releasing today!

I just love this little guy.  He is so cute!  Daisy came up with this idea and Marianne quickly drew out the first draft on a napkin at CHA.  Cami put the finishing touches and this set came out cuter than I EVER expected.

I have THE BESTEST business partners in the world.  Thank you  Cami and Daisy for making my birthday so amazingly wonderful!  I love you both.

Wanna learn some new tricks with Ranger’s Alcohol Ink?  Daisy and I had a blast at Ranger University.  We want to be able to share the fun with you.

Purchase the Alcohol Madness Class Kit and the technique class is free. Come join us and we’ll teach you how to use the supplies from your kit. You will learn four (4) techniques using Ranger’s Alcohol Inks; start a technique ring; and complete 4 projects with the techniques you learned during class. You’ll go home armed and ready with basic supplies and “know how” to create more paper crafts with alcohol inks.

Saturday, June 13, 2009
Portola Hills Clubhouse
18891 Saddleback Ranch Rd
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
There are a limited number of kits/class spots.
email questions to info@eclecticpaperie.com

Alcohol Madness Class Kit - $65.00 (+ tax)
Purchase Class Kit and save your class spot HERE.
Enter COUPON CODE - epclass for no shipping charge
You will receive your kit at class on June 13th.

We are gonna keep the class size small and intimate so you can really learn all there is about Ranger’s Alcohol Inks. We’ll have some door prizes and other eP offerings at the class. Make that stamp date with your friends. Purchase your class kit and spot early.

Sorry I’m late….. I was so busy prepping for my stamp night that I didn’t get a chance to draw a a name for the lucky winner of this cute set:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

19

Timestamp: 2009-05-05 14:24:02 UTC

Danielle on 01 May 2009 at 5:50 am

Oh this is a great summer set! I love that floral surf board leaning on the tree…and those sparkly coconuts and sand are awesome!

Danielle, if you could contact me with your address, I will get this mailed off to you.

Thanks to all that played along and we always appreciate your comments! :)  Have a great day!

I am so excited for this new release.  Debbie and Marianne have really knocked it out of the park.  These sets are just so much fun.  This fun new set was designed by Debbie and this set is called Life’s a Beach.  LOL!  I love that name. You can see the whole set here:

For the card, I used the My Mind’s Eye Paper from the Bloom and Grow Collection.  I just love their papers.  I took the Funky Vines paper and just used the reverse side for the accent in the middle of the card.  I also added Sparkly Fluff to the coconuts! :)  As for the sand, I made a little concoction.  When we were at Ranger U, tim holtz showed us this cool scrapbook page he made that had sand on it. I remember asking what he used…. he told me that it was UTEE and….. I don’t remember the rest.  LOL!  So, I took some UTEE and put some Distress Re-inkers.  I believe I used Antique Linen.   I just mixed it up and adhered it to the card using Glossy Accents.  I love the dimension it gives the card.   Here is another angle where you can see the Sparkly Fluff and the sand a little bit better.  (You can click any of my images for a larger view)

Anyway, for the release of these fun new stamps,  leave a comment on the post….. let me know what your favorite stamp is of this release and I will  draw for a winner on Monday.   And check out some other friends that are also giving away a set. (psssst….. is debbie also giving a little something special on her blog post?  did you read it carefully?)

Granny’s Secrets - Diana Gibbs
Beauty and the Beach- Jeanne Streiff
Summer Sweets - Heather McNally
Bubbles - Nancy Morgan
Oceans of Fun -Valerie Stangle
Sandy Sunsets- Vicki Garrett
Coastal Wishes- Denise Marzec
Garden Thoughts - Lila Holgate
Mice Friends- Holly McMillen
The Tribe - Pam Hooten
Flyin’ Birthday - Jacqui Lines
Let Freedom Ring- Marianne Walker
Bees Knees- Carol Halvorson
Nailed It! -Debbie Corbari
Sunkissed - Deb Felts
Life’s a Beach - Joy Kennedy
Bring on the BBQ- Cindy Lawerence
School’s Out- Sherry Cheever
Bookworm - Kendra Wietstock
Swingin’ By - Bethie Silaika
All About the USA - Roseanne Knowles
Dino-mite - Kisa Peters
Game On- Cambria Turnbow
Back 2 School- Amber Hillman

Hope you have fun!  Happy Friday.

Woohoo!  I can’t wait for the release tomorrow.  Here is another Sneak Peek.

Here is another amazing set by Marianne Walker. I have always liked this style, but had difficulty creating with it.  But, after going to Ranger U, I am always looking for some great sketch, vintagy looking sets.  This whole set is so much fun! :)  Pair it with some Cuttlebug Folders (there are still a bunch on sale) and you can see the fireworks go off!

Check out some more peeks at:

Cambria
Holly
Debbie
Kendra
Heather
Jacqui
Beth
Kisa
Pam
Cammie
Val

HB

Roseanne
Vicki

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for your chance to win one of the new sets being released tomorrow!