WithFlyingColors

Let The Good Times Roll...

2009-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

The best part about moving to New Orleans? THE FOOD! This is a recipe that my family has been using for years. It is fast and easy. You can double, triple or even half it with no problem. You can make your own Cajun spice or use Zatarain's, Tony Chacheres or Emeril's.

I knew right away that I was going to use traditional Mardi Gras colors. I rarely work with colors from Bold Brights and never only those colors. The design came to me pretty quickly. I just cut one inch strips and arranged them in a hapahazard way behind the recipe.

But, I felt like it was just SO bright. I needed to tone it down a little and I thought a little texture might do the trick.I love my Big Shot and texturz plates to spice projects up! The harlequin design fit in nicely with the whole Mardi Gras theme and helped take the edge off of the solid bright colors. A couple of jeweled brads finishes off the page nicely .

SUPPLIES USED:

Lovely Lilac, Glorious Green and Yo Yo Yellow and Basic Black Card stock

Circle Circus Stamp Set

Circle and Square Ice Rhinestone Brads

Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates

After a long break...

2009-09-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

I am back! I have neglected this blog for the past 5 months as we wrapped up our California lives and moved half-way across the country to New Orleans. I am having fun getting re-acquainted with my new home. The history , the people and food and culture of this great city will keep me busy for the entire time we live here. I am also finding new inspirations for my crafting . My goal is to update this blog with new projects and ideas several times a week. Thanks for coming back.

I have always enjoyed swaps and none more than recipe swaps.This wonderful recipe for summer zucchini is one my Mom gave me this summer. It is delicious!

I love this new stamp set. The possibilities are endless. For this project, I inked the stamp with Summer Sun. and then sponged Garden Green onto the middle of the medallion. I punched out the middle with the a large circle punch and used dimensionals to add that to an image that I had stamped in Summer Sun on the white card stock. I added a little copper brad to complement the colors I was using.

This was a quick and easy recipe card. Trying something similar on a regular card yields great results as well.

Supplies Used:

Garden Green Cardstock( 102584) and ink(102272)

Summer Sun Cardstock103124) and ink(100537)

Whisper White Cardstock(106529)

Copper Brads ( retired)

1 3/4 circle punch ( 112004)

To order supplies: http://www.mindyussery.stampinup.net/

A Blast From The Past

2009-03-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the first workshop/club/class you ever did?? Mine was about two years ago. Though I had been stampin for several years, I remember being so nervous. I worried about my projects- were the impressive enough, were my cuts straight, were they too easy, too hard?? I have been cleaning up picture files and I came across the cards from my first club meeting. And you know what? I had nothing to worry about.

Stampin' Up! Pays it Forward!!

2009-02-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

I recently asked Stampin' Up! for a donation to the local elementary school's fundraiser. I was blown away by the box that they sent. It was huge and just loaded with goodies. It was a value of about $500!Isn't Stampin' Up! great???I bought the containers and loaded them with all of the great goodies. The tote is a Stampin' extravaganza and is worth about $350. The tin is filled with items geared towards kids or a a class room and is worth about $150.00. I hope it makes the school a bit of money. I dont have kids there, but I teach a paper crafts class there as part of their enrichment program.

2009-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a great way to use and showcase designer paper? This card features the Sale-A-Bration DSP that you can earn for FREE by spending just $50.

I love making acetate cards and I shared this with club this month. To make this card, we used :

4 Top Note die cuts of DSP
1 Top Note Die from bashful Blue ( cut in half)

We also used some SAB ribbon that was run through the Big Shot on the Top Note die. This makes the ribbon fit perfectly across the main image of the card. :) Toppped it off with a fun little button. Thanks for looking!

Valentine Class

2009-02-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

We just had a Valentine Class last night. I always enjoy my time with my stampin' friends so much. We covered target mailboxes and made this cute little accordion card. The final version had dazzling Diamonds glitter and pop dot hearts in the middle oval. :) We used the Love You Much bundle. :)

A Valentine Treat

2009-01-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I feel like I am finally back in the groove after the craziness of the Christmas season. It feels good to craft again. Don't forget that SAB starts tomorrow. I can't wait! Unbelievably, I have saved my fist order from the new catty for tomorrow. I don't know where I found the willpower, because it certainly isn't one of my strong points!I am really loving all the owls and birds, which brings me to today's post. Over at Splitcoast, I have been inspired by many different versions of these owls. I had to try them out fro my club swap. They were fun to make and I love how they turned out. It uses 2 large scallops from the Big Shot and several other circle punches. Isn't he cute?He is taped to a giant lollipop and I figure he will make a great scrapbook page element after the receiver eats the lolli. Hope you all get lots of crafting time this weekend. :)

2009-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

First off, I must apologize for my 6 week absence. No great excuses... life has just gotten a bit in the way. I was catching up on all the blogs from my Splitcoast group and was glad to see I wasn't the only one who has been AWOL for a bit. I am very sorry for not keeping up with those of you who have been keeping up!

My clubs just started a new round and we met this past week. I LOVE my clubs. They are a great group of ladies and so fun to craft with. Here are two of the items we made:

Love this sentiment for Valentine's Day! Isnt it perfect? I think the color scheme has a great masculine look. This is a matchbook type fold and when you open it up , there is a scrumptious Ghiradelli chocolate inside!
I had a TON of these perfect little calendars to use up, so I decided this would be a perfect and quick project. This is a 4x4 chipboard and there is a magnet on the back so you can keep it on the fridge. These also look great in a small easel for your desktop. This is a Level 2 hostess set that I am just in love with. I have quite the collecttion of roosters in my dining room and I have been waiting for SU to come out with a realistic Rooster set.

I plan to post something at the end of the week as well. See ya soon.....

Dream Home Outdoor Pics

2009-01-15T21:05:00.001-08:00

Isn't this part of the DR gorgeous? I love it...Check out the fingerprints on the window. The way the sun was setting highlighted this so much! They need some Windex. I will even do the windows if I could just hang out in there for a while. :)
Some more goodies that come with the house. Missing was the GMC Acadia that the winner will also receive.

See the doggy water bowl in the garage? The guide said that the garages here are not attached because of a fire/bldg codes in Sonoma for houses over a certain sq footage.

I love this driveway. Looks like an old carriage path. The plants are inedible strawberry plants.
There will be enough grapes here to produce two cases of wine.

BIG outdoor table.
This is the view from the back of the house. See how close the neighbors are? This is very typical for California living. This development does not allow hard fencing. The fences are wire with wooden posts and there are various plantings that make up the actual fence.

This is a view from the backyard into the side street

the kitchen garden.

Doggy Dream Home. very cute, but unpainted inside.

Dream Home 2009 Master Suite pics...

2009-01-15T20:53:00.001-08:00

The closet! Love it. I could be so organized. Check out the clearance stickers. They were on quite a few of the items and clearly visible. I think they are Koh;'s stickers. :)

View from the master bath

This even puts my Mom's bathroom to shame. WOW!
I did not get any pics of the amazing bedroom. Oh, the wall color and that bed was amazing. unfortunately, the camera was dying. :(

Dream Home Pics continued....

2009-01-15T20:35:00.001-08:00

This is how the washer and dryer open. They seem to have a small capacity...

This little guy is hiding in a drawer in the kids room closet. I love sock monkeys. :)

We got a kick out of this. It was in the guest room closet. I wish I could hav epoeeked in every closet and drawer. There are lots of goodies hidden away.

Another favorite room... this guest room is breathtaking. I want to sleep in here! :)
See these glinting spots?There is some sort of sparkle to this counter top. It is not weird 70's! I promise. It is very subtle. Almost looks like diamond dust.....It is really cool in person.

Love this subway tile and the fixtures in the guest bath. DD claimed it for herself.

The stairwell...
I was determined to get a picture of that white hand. :)
This downstairs powder room was not opened, but the man in front of me opened it. Notice the paper towels and a piece of paper on the back of the toilet. LOL

Looking outside from the kitchen table.\

More to follow.....

HGTV Dream Home 2009

2009-01-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Crafters-I have to hijack my own blog for a moment and post some pictures of this year's HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma, Ca. My daughter and I went and had a wonderful time. I have been entering these contests since the beginning, so she has the bug just as badly as I do. :) For the past two year's my brother worked for one of the sponsoring companies, so we could not enter. We are so happy that he left that job! :)I will get some new Stampin stuff up this weekend... I promise.

Every year the Dream Home seems to be built in a place that we have lived. This time, it was built just 30 minutes away. We feel so lucky to have finally gotten to tour one in person and on the first day, no less!We have always loved Sonoma. They could not have picked a better place.
( Well, the 2007 in Tyler, Texas ( my hometown area) was pretty amazing!)

Our shuttle driver and tour guide were great. Shared lots of info with us. Our tour only had 6 people and it was a perfect sized group. After you check out the pictures, be sure and head to www.hgtv.com to enter for a chance to win!

We started in the lobby of the amazing Ledson Hotel. WOW!
Our carriage awaits.....

The entryway had a big, black scuff on the ceiling that I noticed right away. I did not worry about it for too long! LOLThe First room you see is the family room. It isnt as far to the family room from the front door as it seemed on the HGTV special:

To the left is a formal LR. All in blues. I don't care for blue, but I love this room. What a soothing place to sit and read. I was trying to read all the titles of the books that I could, but it was too hard. LOL This is in the corner. The bowl is full of Hershey Kisses.
To the right might be my fave room. The Dining Room. It has a sitting area and terra cotta colored walls.

This has to be my favorite accessory in the entire house. A grapegathering bucket.....
A close-up of the tablescape...

The kitchen is a dream. What a joy it would be to cook in there for family and friends . Two of everything! 2 dishwashers, 2 fridges, 2 pantry's, 2 wine coolers, etc.

The cleverly hidden dishwasher....
One of the two pantry's:

This is getting pretty picture heavy. I will start another post with the office and outside and then we will head upstairs. It may be tomorrow before I can get to it though.... See ya soon.

You like me , you really like me!!!!!

2008-11-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

LOL. I couldn't resist quoting Sally Field when I saw this award. It really made my day.

I was reading my past comments and saw that I received my first ever "Award". Thanks to Twila for the Blog Award nomination. Twila has a great Blog if you want to check it out here:http://stampalittlelonger.blogspot.com/

Here are my 5 nominations:Be sure and check out their wonderful work!

1.http://beauchampfam.blogspot.com

2.http://www.lisasomerville.com/
3.http://stampingwithsheryl.typepad.com
4.http://stampinwithadela.blogspot.com/
5.http://mintstamps.blogspot.com/2008/11/1948.html

1. The rules that go along with this award are:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for you nominees.

2008-11-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

Our Rub-ons and a dollar ornament at Michael's make a perfect little gift!Add a little ribbon to top it off..

MIni Tag Album

2008-11-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

I just love making these little mini tag books. You can cut them any size to suit your taste. I had wanted to do a shaker card with my clubs, but decided to just take the shaker element and add it to the front of a tag book. We did end up coloring the sky with a blender pen and Baja Breeze ink. Made it POP a bit more... This little stamp set is one of my absolute favorites. I had overlooked it many times and then one day I just had to have it. It is so versatile.

This particular book is 5.5 x 2.5 if I am remembering correctly. :)
Shaker was made with Chipboard die cuts and filled with microbeads.
The front and back cover are Ski Slope DSP, inside pages are Choco Chip, Baja Breeze and Real Red. Mine is a total of 5 pages, but you can make manyy more.
Punch a hole with the cropodile and add a ring. Tie coordinating ribbon all around.

Super easy and fast. And, it makes a great little gift. :)

Oh the weather outside...

2008-11-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

is frightful.... Okay, not really. It is California after all. But, it is nice and cool. The weather is finally catching up with my Christmas spirit. Here are two of the projects we did at Stamp Clubs this month.

Truck Card :

Paper/Card stock: Kraft, Real Red, watercolor paper
Stamp Sets: Loads of Love and the matching wheel
Ink: Always Artichoke, Timber brown staz-on, watercolor wonder crayons
Accessories:New rope from the mini and Jumbo eyelets

The bag is a Box in A Bag. So fun and easy to make. You can find the tutorial over at splitcoast.

Paper/Card stock: Chocolate Chip and Ski Slope
Stamp Sets: None
Ink: None
Accessories:Build A Brad, Felt Flurries, Tab punch, ribbon

2008-11-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

I knew it had been a while since I posted last, but I did not realize that it had been 2 weeks! Life has been busy and hectic around here. I have been working on many projects- either for gifts, classes or clubs. I have lots to share with you, so hopefully I will be better about posting in the coming weeks.

These projects utilize the Decor Elements line. I cut aprt the images so that I could have the bell color contrast with the words. I love how these turned out. The frame is a shadow box type and cost about $10 at Target. Perfect for showcasing this little wall decor. I like the idea of using the Holidaqy line on an object so that it can be enjoyed for years to come. I love this particyular Decor Element- at $3.50 , it just cant be beat!The jar was just about $6 at Target. These make great Hostess gifts for all of your Holiday parties. What is your favorite holiday Decor Element?

2008-11-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are two of the card from my upcoming Christmas Card Bootcamp.I rarely CASE, but these were both heavily inspired by talented stampers over at Splitcoast and I am holding a session Thursday and Sunday of this next week. If you missed signing up, you still have a chance. Sign-ups are accepted through Nov 2nd.

Tree Card: Handsome Hunter CS and ink, Whisper White CS , Real Red ink
Dazzling Diamonds, Red/White Gingham ribbon
Lovely As A Tree, Best Yet stamp sets
Inspired by this gorgeous card: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1056410

Snowman Card:Kiwi Kiss CS, Frosty Day DSP, Bashful Blue ink
Chocolate Chip ribbon
Deer Friends stamp set
Tutorial for Flap Cards:

2008-10-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

Members of my club can sign up for swaps. I thought I would share a few of this month's Halloween swaps. Aren't they cool?

Frankie Box by Andrea
Witches Shoe by Gwen
Pirate Necklace by Dianne
Frapp bottle by me

Christmas Swaps

2008-10-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

I feel completely in the mood for Christmas! Probably because we are headed home to Texas this year.We have missed the past two Christmases with family and this will be so good for all of us. My daughter even said she wanted to skip fall, which includes her 15th birthday, and head right to Christmas. We are so excited!

I made these two items for a Christmas swap on splitcoast. I am so proud of this card. it may be my favorite card I have ever made! I just love everything about it. :) It Uses:

Curly label stamps/punch
Holiday Treasures DSP,
Old Olive card stock/ink/wide ribbon
Baja Breeze ink
Window Punch
Large Felt Flurries
To You and Yours stamp set

The recipe card was so fun to make as well. Theses are my favorite cookies in the entire world! I used to ask for these instead of a birthday cake.

I used:

Ski Slope and Bella Rose DSP
Riding Hood Red/Baja Breeze card stock
Old Olive ribbon
Clip Assortment
Felt Flurries
Wointer Post stamp set

After Scool Enrichment Program

2008-10-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am teaching a paper-crafting After-School Enrichemnt program at our local elementary school. It has been a lot of fun. I have 12 second through 5th graders. This was for the first class. I wanted to see the ability level before I decided the entire curriculum. As you can see, I left a lot of white around the crab. I thought it would be too intimidating if I trimmed him closely. Those girls and boys are pros- for the most part! They were able to trim him perfectly. They thought the tearing and glittering was the bomb. LOL Of course, they loved using the wheel as well. Parents seemed pleasantly surprised that they came home with a nice project. :) We made a tag book album last week and the Frankenstein box this week. I will be sure and post pictures of our other projects as well.

Crab and Co
Baja Breeze, Kraft
twine

Christmas Photo Card

2008-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

This was a Christmas card that I made for a Photo card swap. I just love it. It is so beautiful in person. Perfect for beach or black and white photos. I am thinking this *might* be my Christmas card this year.

Baja Breeze card stock/ink/ribbon
Very vanilla card stock
Dazzling Diamonds glitter
Baja Felt Flurries
Cutter Kit and corner punch
Winter Post stamp set

October 5x5 Clubs Projects

2008-10-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

I love my Stampin UP 5x5 Clubs! I currently have three and we all meet on one night!We usually have a few guests as well. It is loud and crazy and fun. I love spoiling them. :) Here are the projects we made:

1. A Gratitude Journal- featuring Autumn Vine, the yummy new brown ribbon, twine, and A Friend For All Seasons from the new mini. What a great stamp set and I am loving the colors of the DSP! I love altering Composition Books . They are fairly inexpensive and have a WOW factor to them. I think my girls liked them a lot.

2. A 6x6 Recipe card - Featuring Autumn Vine and Happy Blessing from the new mini. We also water colored with WaterColor Wonder Crayons and the aqua painter. That was new for some of my stampers and they loved it.

3. A Punch Turkey card- I have seen these on Splitcoast and wanted to try one out. We used Haiku, large oval punch, flower punch from Boho, Ribbon and the good ol cropodile and jumbo eyelets. The cropodile was new to my newer stampers. They loved how easy it was to set those eyelets.

All-Inclusive Stationery Box

2008-09-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

I got the design for these great stationery boxes from Jackie Topas's Blog. Be sure and check it out for all the directions. This is my October class. Some of my friend's have just been waiting and waiting for this one to come around. Each kit is made with one half of a Simply Scrappin KIt, plus pen, beads, 4 regular envelopes and 3 3x3 envelopes. No stamping involved! THey can always jazz it up at home. But honestly, I really like the way they look, even w/o stampin or ribbons. My class gets to choose from I Wish or Best Ever. If you did not get the evite , but want to come... just let me know!

Blog Candy For Ahlzheimer's

2008-09-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

WOWZA!! Check out this amazing blog candy/prize package. This is all in thename of Ahlzheimers. My Mamaw died from complications of thsi terrible disease. IT is such a worthy cause to support. SCroll down for the entry and rules. Contests ends today. I will post my Thank You card when I get home this evening. http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/

Halloween Spook-Tacular Class/ Sept 21st

2008-09-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I am having this great little class tomorrow. Lots of fun Halloween projects using new papers and stamp sets. The door hanger was inspired by Andrea Walford. You can find the pattern on her blog. Frankie was inspired by similar projects posted by many different crafters on splitcoaststampers.com. The little cookie holder , made form a cd sleeve, is so quick and easy to make. The two little baskets are made form an exclusive Stampin' Up! die for the Big Shot.

Envelope Albums

2008-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

These albums are so quick and easy. I just love making them. You can find a tutorial on www.splitcoaststampers.com. Just look under resources. They are made with clear envelopes. I highlighted the starfish with glitter. It is so pretty in person.

SU! Supplies:

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accesories: twine, dazzling diamonds,cutter kit

Merry Cali-Christmas!

2008-09-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Don't you love when you think up a card and it actually turns out just the way you envisioned it? Rarely does a finished project look the way I first planned it to look. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad. LOL This one went from brain to paper in one easy movement. I love those days!This was for a swap on splitcoaststampers.com and I made 10 of them. My hand was killing me from all that distressing. I would love for this to be our family Christmas card, but I don't think my hands can take it. :)

All supplies are SUO:

cardstock: Very Vanilla, Kraft, Baja Blue, Brocade Blue
Ink: Brocade Blue, baja Blue
Acessories: 1" double stitched grosgrain in Baja Blue, blender pens, dazzling diamonds,, hemp, word window punch, colored pencils, cutter kit ( distressing tool)
Stamp Sets: Shellebrate, Warm Words ( on dormant list)

My Luggage is stylin'

2008-09-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

If you have not tried these luggage tags, you need to! They are so easy to make and they sure help you find your luggage at the airport. I have one on my craft tote and it looks so cute. :)Very inexpensive , as you can pretty much use scraps of ribbon and paper to creat the entire thing.

All Supplies Stampin' Up!
Bella Rose designer paper,Pink Pirouette CS, chipboard letters, white craft ink, embossing powder, current and retired SU ribbon pieces

Goodbye Summer.....

2008-09-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

Fall weather is finally showing up around here. We were having a heat wave and it was getting old. I love fall and expect that I will be posting tons of fall projects on my pages in the weeks to come.

This 6x6 recipe is my farewell to summer. It is a friend's recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad. It is so good. Strawberries are getting a little harder to find now, so I better make it one last time. The strawberries were embossed, cut out and pop-dotted.

All supplies Stampin' Up!

Real Red , Old Olive, Whisper White
Tart and Tangy Stamp Set
From The Kitchen Of Stamp Set
Embossing powder, pop dots, 1/2 striped grosgrain

Two Months??

2008-09-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

I just realized it took me two months to actually make another post after I created the blog. It is a lot to get used to, but I think I am really going to enjoy it with a little practice. :)

Seriously Dude!

2008-09-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

My clubs are having a card swap this month and the theme is "Kids Cards". I went more towards the pre-teen/teen side with my cards. I did a version that is sure to make a boy or a girl smile. If they aren't wowed by the card, I am sure they will love the gift card that tucks into the little inside pocket. The card base measures 4 3/4" x 9" and it is scored at 4" and 8" on the long side. Each card has it's own special embellishment. Crystal Effects makes the boys card look like mud and a girl card just can't be without Chunky Glitter!All items used are Stampin' Up!I saw the measurements somewhere online for this type of card. Unfortunately, I did not save the link and I am not sure whom to credit with it. If I come across it, I will be sure and let you know.

Supplies Used:

Boy card: So Cool stamp set, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, and So saffron card stock, Chocolate Chip ink. Crystal Effects,Window Punch.

Girl Card: Seriously Sassy Stamp Set,Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, and So saffron card stock, Chocolate Chip ink. Chunky Glitter.

2008-07-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, this it. I think I am actually blogging. My kids will never believe it. I love the computer, but I tend to avoid all other technology. :)It is so much easier to dial the phone than text message. LOL

I hope to challenge myself this year in the world of paper crafting. I created this blog to post projects and ideas for mys customers and friends. I can't wait to get started.

With Flying Colors is a nod to the fact that we are a Coast Guard family and that I love to use color in my projects.