Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Blog finds for March 31...NO PEEKING

If you are reading this today, March 30th, then you cheated and peeked! That’s ok though, I would have done the same thing. I wanted to make sure you had plenty of Blog finds to peruse the next few days since I will be busy UNPACKING!!! Yes folks, that is right, after waiting in an empty house for 4 WEEKS our stuff is finally arriving from Germany. So, that being said, blog finds will probably be a little scarce over the next few days since I have so many boxes to go through. And of course, once all the unpacking is done, it will finally be time to get my FINGERS INKY! So enjoy these blog finds, and I’ll be back after I have STAMPED MY HEART OUT!

Kelly

3D:

Designz by Gloria- Tea Holder

Big Shot:

Chris Galbraith Creations- Bunny Basket

Scrapbook:

My Crafty World- Remember When Layout

Misc:

Getting Crafty- Strength and Hope Magnetic Pouch

Cards:

Crafty Maria’s Stamping World- Wolf Card

Add a Little Dazzle- Butterfly easel Card

My Little Patch of Dirt- Amour Card

Scrap Love Create- Thank You Card

Jayne Stamps- Elements of Style Butterfly Card

Andrea Walford- Trees of Hope Card

Smiles Laura- Cupcake Card

Starzl Stamps- Make a Monster Card

Make Mine Stamps- Bliss Card

Stamper Camper- Little Chick Card

Techno Stamper- Fur Ever Friends

A Stamp a Day- Thank you Card

Stampin with Sue- Tulip Card

Monkia Stamps- Cute by the Inch Card

Sandy Stamper- Four Frames Card

Soggy Stamper- MDS Iris Card

Blog finds for March 30

3D:

Lady Di’s Stamping Spot- Fabric Eggs

Stampin Reckon- Easter Basket

Stampin Pegcadillo- Mini Basket

Big Shot:

Sherry Stampin Bella- Two Tag Treat

Scrapbook:

Patty Stamps- Double Fold Out Album

Remarkably Created- 1980 Layout

Misc:

Inkspired Treasures- Cupcake Anti-Bac Holders

Cards:

Stamping with Mary- Butterfly Card

Gwen’s Stampin Fun- Birthday Card

Stamping Peg- Bird Card

Sherry’s Ink N Stamps- Shadowbox Card

Got Rubber Will Stamp- Extreme Skateboard Card

Stamp Art Papel- Thank You Card

Cards & Things- Birthday Card

Busy Stampin- Baby Blossoms Card

Gretchen Barron- Inlaid Cross Card

Another Chance to Stamp- Peace within card

Inking Idaho- Nature Walk Card

Trinity Design Studio- Purple Bliss Butterfly Card

Stamping Madly- Faux Pearl Card

Frenchie Stamps- Blossom Petals Card

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Blog finds for March 29

3D:

Gwen’s Cards N Stamps in Bloom- Heart Favor Boxes

Sandi Maciver- Cupcake Display

Big Shot:

Maddie Bug Designs- Clear Case Album

Misc:

Rubber Redneck- Bunny Treat Bag

Stampin Ovation- Birthday Hippo Punch Art

E Lefevre- Home made ribbon holder

Cards:

River Front Stamping- Bliss Card

Sherry Stampin Room- Hello You Card

Stetler Arts- Egg Card

Sherry Stampin Bella- Clearly for You Card

Stampin Stace- Cracked Up Card

Stampin Peg- Imagine Card

Inked x 2- Porcupine Card

Crafty Maria’s Stampin World- Rose Card

Stampin Pegcadillo- Easter Card

Stampin Jonia- Wedding Card

Jean Stamps- Twilight Birthday Card

Sandie’s Korner- Spring Card

Keeney Farm- Baby Card

Stamping with Lisa- Beveled Window Pane Card

Monday, March 28, 2011

Blog finds for March 28

3D:

Paper Sweets- Earth Hour Lantern

Getting Crafty- Hostess Box

Stamp with Sandy- Notecard purse

Big Shot:

Add a Little Dazzle- Butterfly Frame

Clever and Cute- Chick Milk Carton

Stamping with Kris- Scallop Circle Basket

Cards:

Robin’s Craft Room- Springtime Layer Card

Stamp N Design- Butterfly Rainbow Card

Sunflower Stamper- Bliss Card

The Stamping Studio- Butterfly Spinner Card

My Little Patch of Dirt- Birthday Card

Inking Idaho- Nature Walk card

Stampin Ovation- Bliss Card

Stamping Lee Yours- Easter Card

Tina Taves- Bee Card

Just For Fun:

Article by Jan Hoyt’s Sister

DeLayed Reaction: March 27, 2011

Crimpers, Croppers, and Crop-a-diles

Copyright 2011, Susan DeLay

“Want to go to a crap party?” I hadn’t anticipated spending time with my sister, Jan in a game of chance or picking mushrooms for fun.

As it turns out, I heard her wrong. She said crop party. I conjured up visions of horse women in jodhpurs perched on English riding saddles, and riding crops tucked under their arms. Oh, and chips and guacamole because it’s not a party without snacks Wrong again. For blood relatives, Jan and I have very different ideas on a good time.

Apparently it wasn’t even a party—it was just a crop, which is more like a soiree…with pinking shears. Women of all ages (and an occasional token male), drag boxes of photographs and scary looking tools to a crop where they spend time preparing photographs for scrapbooks. By spending time, I mean hours.

Jan assured me this was a short crop—only four hours. Wait. Four hours is short? If four hours is a short time, then what is a long crop? Turns out it’s 12 hours. I kid you not. There are people who can spend 12 straight hours decorating pictures for scrapbooks. Have these people never heard of shoeboxes? (Tossing pictures into shoeboxes is my idea of scrapbooking.) After 12 hours spent slicing and dicing pictures, I would be ready to put a hole in my head. And it wouldn’t be difficult since hole punches are essential crop tools.

I can see why they dropped the word party from this Saturday night event. It’s much easier to justify spending hours with a box cutter or razor blade if you drop the word party. Saying “I’m going to a crop” sounds more like, “I’m off to work an eight-hour shift,” than “I’m off to play with pictures of our summer vacation.”

A crop is a cross between a baby shower and a home demonstration party—the kind where you can buy jewelry, plastic storage containers, skin care, or high-end cheese graters. Croppers seem like people who would let you cut in front of them in line at the grocery if you had nothing but a bag of pre-cut lettuce and a Diet Coke and they had 82 items and a folder full of coupons. Crappers, on the other hand, might not be so nice. But I digress.

Jan supported the rubber stamp end of the crop and her friend Janet was in charge of the scrapbooking part. Together they are Scrampers--a powerful alliance between the rubber stamp confederation and the scrapbooking consortium. I sat between them and added no value whatsoever. Sort of like the peanut butter filling between Nabisco cheese crackers.

To say Jan is a rubber stamper is like saying the Pope is sort of religious. Along every wall in her finished basement is shelving stocked with ribbons, markers, card stock, ink pads, glue, and, of course, dozens and dozens of wood-mounted, rubber art stamps. I’m certain I also saw a few one-pound bags of M&Ms--no doubt for medicinal purposes. Jan whipped out a chef’s apron that identified her as a professional stamper who no longer competes on an amateur level. I kept waiting for her to put on special stamping shoes, but those don’t exist—yet.

Wheeling in luggage-sized carriers, half a dozen paper-crimping, bone-folding-addicted women lugged their gear to the crop. All I brought was a pair of nail clippers, but I was only there to audit the class.

I expected to hear a starting pistol signifying the beginning of the four-hour event. Or an incantation like: Romper, Bomper, Stamper Boo. The official launch amounted to nothing more than the “pffft” sound a Tupperware container full of brownies makes when you open the lid. It was good enough for me.

Neophytes to the world of the scramper will gasp at the tools required to do the job right. The most impressive (and frightening) tool of the evening was the crop-a-dile. With pink handles and the jaws of a reptile, it punched eyelets and grommets into the sturdiest of materials—even metal trash cans.

While I have no idea why anyone would need to adorn a metal trash can with eyelets, someone somewhere has convinced crafters that life without the crop-a-dile is meaningless.

I’ll bet it’s the same people who were behind pet rocks.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Blog finds for March 26-27

3D:

Just Sponge It- Frames

Big Shot:

creatin with Kirsteen- Flower Bags

Stamping with Kris- Milk Carton Box

Scrapbook:

Monika Stamps- Mini Sew Suite Scrapbook

Stampin Jonia- Sweet N Sassy Layout

Misc:

Stamp N Design- Egg gift Card Holder

Inking Idaho- Scalloped Candy Wrapper

Getting Crafty- Egg Box

Created by U- Rose Tutorial

Cards:

Sunflower Stamper- Sunflower Card

Sherry Stampin Bella- Vintage Spring Card

My Crafty World- Sympathy card

Tina Taves- Orange Flower

Got Rubber Will Stamp- Cancer Card

Patty Stamps- Bunny Birthday Card

Gwen’s Stampin Fun- Strength and Hope Digital Card

My Little Patch of Dirt- Belly Band Card

Andrea Walford- Celebrate Card

Stamper Camper- Season of Friendship Card

Just For Fun:

Craft Critique- Trends for March, How does SU stack up?

Friday, March 25, 2011

Blog finds for March 25

3D:

It’s a stamp thing- Easter Wagon

Melanie Schulenberg- watering Can

Big Shot:

Patty Stamps- Fun Flowers Gift Card Box

Scrapbook:

Remarkably Created- Garden Layout

A Stamp Above- Progressive Layout

Misc:

Getting Crafty- Double Loop Bow tutorial

Cards:

High Desert Stamper- Mother’s Day Card

Greetings by Chera- Lilac Card

Stampin Ovation- Boatload card

Stampin Fun with Selene- quitter Card

Stamp That- Charming Card

Sandi Maciver- Kimono Kids Card

Stamp with jane- Telescoping Snowman Card (Let’s hope we don’t revert to snow cards again though…come on spring!)

North shore stamper- Sew Suite Card

Stamp N Design- Tax Card

Stamper Camper- Punch Bunch Card

Stmpr Dee- Surfs Up Card

Created by U- Baby Card

A Stampers Touch- Coffee Card

Stamping T- Easter Card

Another Chance to Stamp- Elements of Style Iris Fold Card

Stamp and Scrap with Cheryl Ann- Pastels card

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Blog finds for March 24

3D:

Guneaux Designs by Beverly Polen- Hand Purse

Crafty Maria’s Stamping World- Round Flower Box

Stamping with Kris- Flower Box

Big Shot:

Ilina Crouse- Easter Tag

Sherry’s Ink N Stamps- Friends 24/7 Fancy Favors Box

Scrapbook:

Stamp N Design- Bright Layout

Misc:

Frenchie Stamps- Antique Brad Bracelet

Trinity Designs Studio- Fabric Lollipop Tutorial

Skip to My Lou- Fabric Flowers Tutorials

Stamping in the Woods- Mini Sewing Kit

Cards:

Weekend Stamper- Butterfly Card

River Front Stampin- Four Frames Card

Flower Bug- Flower Card

Sandi’s Korner- Pocket Card

Jackie Topa- Graduation Card

Creatin with Kirsteen- Plane and Simple Card

Busy Stampin- Artistic Etchings Card

Stamping Cooking Knitting- Wish Big Card

Stamping Madly- Baja Flowers Card

Stampin Ovation- Aviary Card

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Blog finds for March 23

3D:

It’s Time to Stamp- Flower Pot Card Set

Remarkably Created- Bird Centerpieces

Created By U- Rose topped Box

Guneaux Designs by Beverly Polen- Paisley Petals Purse

Big Shot:

Toni Stamps- Fore U Fancy Favor Box

Scrapbook:

VS Paper Kreations- Disney Layout

Misc:

Stamp a Blog- Sponge Dauber Box Tutorial

Cornwall Crafty Stamper- Embossed Fondant

Scraping and Stamping- Punch Art Bunny

Cards:

Andrea Walford- Sponged Background Technique

Stamping Lee Yours- Friends 24/7 Card

Crafty Maria’s Stamping World- Countryside Birthday Card

Sandie’s Korner- Whimsical Birthday Card

Paper Conversation- Thanks Card

Stamper Camper- Just for you Card

Busy Stampin- Bee Card

Make Mine Stamps- Hope Happens Card

Krista Kris- Awash with Flowers Card

Stamp 4 Fun- Happy Birthday Card

Inked x 2- Just a Little Note Card

Got Rubber Will Stamp- Friends Card

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Blog finds for March 22

3D:

Clever and Cute- Egg

Shari’s Stamp Pad- Square Frame

Big Shot:

Caroos Kartjes- Butterfly Easel Cards

Illina Crouse- Pennant Die Basket

Brenda’s Stamping Corner- Baby Boy Box

Misc:

Glenda Mollet- Buzz light year punch art

Cards:

Sandy Stamper- Punch Sheep Card

Inkspired Treasures- Nature Walk Card

Want 2 Be Creative- quilt card

Gretchen Barron- Wedding Card

Dale Lee Morin- Thanks Card

Created by U- Gold Frame Card

North Shore Stamper- Thank U Card

It’s a Stamp Thing- Vicki- Bird Cage Card

It’s time to stamp- Sympathy Card

Make Mine Stamps- Faux Flower Soft Card

Trinity Design Studio- Blue Spring Card

A Stamp Above- Fun Fold Card

Fun Stampin- Scallop Birthday Card

I can stamp 2- Butterfly Card